


In Place of a Name

by creativenamesareoverated



Category: Tales of Zestiria
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Aromantic Edna, Bisexual Rose, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Roller Coaster, Friends to Lovers, Gender Dysphoria, Genderfluid Mikleo, Gray Romantic Lailah, Growing Up, Heartbreak, Hurt/Comfort, I really am, I'm Serious, I'm adding more tags now because I want to, IN DRAGO'S WORDS:, Kind of a love triangle?, M/M, Pansexual Sorey, Pining, Possibly some Rose x Lailah, Slow Burn, So much comfort, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Unrequited Crush, You're welcome Drago, but more hurt, clothed!Zaveid, confusedleo, he's also confused, i forgot to mention, justneedsahugleo, literally goes fluff - cry - fluff - cry, oh and, sadleo, so much hurt, these tags are basically just a shitpost
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-08
Updated: 2017-04-26
Packaged: 2018-08-29 22:31:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 33
Words: 98,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8508049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/creativenamesareoverated/pseuds/creativenamesareoverated
Summary: Mikleo and Sorey immediately realize that they are similar, but when Mikleo struggles and squirms with his identity and Sorey struggles with his sexuality they end up finding themselves more frighteningly alike than ever imaginable, while still managing to be polar opposites.





	1. Inevitable Confusion

**Author's Note:**

> SO I ENJOYED WRITING NB MIKLEO SO MUCH I really actually started a multi-chapter fic for this wow what am I doing help.
> 
> #noregrets
> 
> Anywho, please enjoy :)
> 
> Oh and also I think my excessive use of commas is only getting worse send help

Sorey stared around his new school. It was an old, brick building, but it was beautiful. It had gorgeous architecture and he was currently standing in a small courtyard of sorts. The path leading up the building was stone. Spaces in between the stone slabs of various shapes, colors and sizes were pebbles, none of which looked anything alike either. Moss was growing in between some of the pebbles, giving the building an old feel, as if it didn’t have one already.

 

              Someone brushed his shoulder, “S-sorry…” He heard them mutter, only catching a glimpse of silver hair as they brushed past.

 

              Wait… Silver hair?

 

              “Sorey!” He heard a polite voice call from behind him, turning around to meet eyes with a pretty blonde. She was the same age as him, sixteen and starting tenth grade. Despite this, she appeared to be younger than everyone around her. Although, her attitude was far more mature than anyone Sorey had ever met.

 

              “Hi Alisha! We ended up in the same advisory group. A lot of our classes are the same too!” He beamed. Alisha had lived in his old village for a while. Sorey had just moved out of his small little town to come here, Zenerus, his godfather, said that he needed to experience more of the world.

 

              Alisha giggled, “Indeed we did, Sorey. And for that I am glad.” Her tone was soft but serious, and anyone who didn’t know her would probably be mildly concerned. “Well,” she exclaimed. “Let us begin!” She giggled softly, and marched on ahead with lighthearted purpose. He followed in suit, and as he walked in the fancy doors he was relieved to see the inside of the school wasn’t all that large, instead quaint and homey.

 

             

~

 

              Classes up to lunch passed smoothly. Sorey meandered through the cafeteria, attempting to find his one and only friend.

 

              “Over here!” He turned around to find Alisha waving. He smiled, and took the seat next to Alisha that she had saved in the bustling cafeteria. He looked around at her group of friends and raised an eyebrow. “Sorey, these are my friends! Their names are: Rose, Lailah, Edna and Zaveid… Edna where’s Mikleo?” ‘Edna’ sighed, and Alisha’s hand which had been pointing at each of the people whose names she had called dropped.

 

              “No idea, he’s been really jumpy all day. He’ll come though, just give him space.” Replied the short dirty blonde. Sorey couldn’t help but ponder about her mismatched attire, and what was even more amazing is that she could pull it off.

 

              As if on cue, a silver haired boy pulls out a seat next to Sorey. “Sorey I’m late, I had to ask the teacher about something.”

 

              Sorey found himself staring at the boy as he turned towards him. He had vibrant lilac eyes and silvery hair that he swore had nearly invisible tints of blue in it. His bangs swooped over his forehead, just short enough to keep out of his eyes, and although his hair was indeed short it was clearly well taken care of. His skin was pale and fair, and he had white eyelashes and eyebrows to go along with his hair, making Sorey aware that it was not dyed. “H-hi,” Sorey stuttered, surprising himself with his own uncertainty. “I’m Sorey, Alisha’s friend from Elysia.”

 

              The boy quirked a white eyebrow at Sorey, “Oh? Alisha told me a bit about you.” He tilted his head at Sorey, appearing to analyze him carefully, “I’m Mikleo, nice to meet you.” He turned back to his lunch bag.

 

              Edna snorts, “Mikleo’s a history nerd like you are according to Alisha, so you two should get along well.” Sorey raises an eyebrow at this and turns towards Mikleo.

 

              “You like history?”

 

              “Yes, I do.” Mikleo deadpanned, taking out what looked to be homemade yogurt from his lunchbag. “Elysia is full of a lot of old structures, yes? Must be beautiful,” his words carried a tint of dreaminess, but his face remained blank.

 

              “It is,” Sorey sighed, kicking his legs under the table. He paused before turning back to Mikleo, “Do you like the Celestial Record?”

 

              Mikleo very visibly flinched at this. “I used to, I don’t read it as much anymore.” His voice’s pitch had dropped dramatically to nearly an inaudible whisper. Sorey spared a glance over to Edna, but she appeared pre-occupied now, just like the rest of the group apparently.

 

              “A-ah, I see…”

 

              “Do you?” Mikleo asked. “Do you like it? I wouldn’t mind hearing someone else’s thoughts on it,” he appeared pensive, and he began tapping his nails on the table. Sorey stared at them, noting that they were long and perfectly cared for.

 

              “I do,” Sorey let out what could be defined as a nervous laugh whilst scratching the back of his neck. “I think it’s really interesting.”

 

              Mikleo smiled at this, “Indeed it is. It’s well written too, just carries a hint of mystery.”

 

              “Yeah, exactly! Jee, I would die to know the author…” Sorey groaned. So caught up Sorey failed to notice how sad the albino’s smile had become.

 

              “So… What do you think about the Ghalad Ruins?” Sorey’s face lit up at Mikleo’s inquiry, and a smirk grew on the on the other boy’s face.

 

              They spent the rest of lunch arguing relentlessly. Some of their ideas matched up perfectly, but sometimes they also just couldn’t come to an agreement. It took about all of five seconds for Sorey to learn that Mikleo was relentlessly stubborn, and Sorey actually found he rather liked it. Mikleo made him think, forced him to see another perspective different than his own. And while he listened to Sorey’s ideas and analyzed situations logically, in the end he stayed loyal to his own opinion.

 

              The bell startled them both, they had just been in the midst of talking about which classes they had together when it did. They were both delighted to see they had World History together, and a couple other classes of far less importance.

 

              “Wow, that was a fast lunch,” Sorey finally managed to say what both of them were thinking. Mikleo didn’t respond, but merely sighed.

 

              “Oh wait!” Alisha called. “Before you all go to class I was thinking we could hang out after school, before we start getting busy and it gets harder to meet up.”

 

              “Your house?” Inquired Rose.

 

              “Yes, if that works for everyone.” Everyone nodded in silent agreement, Sorey got the feeling this was not an uncommon event with Alisha.

 

              And off they all went to their separate classes, now having something to look forward to after school.

 

~

 

              “Sorey!” Alisha called out to said person as they exited the school. “You can walk home with me, unless you need to stop by your house first.”

 

              Sorey stared at Alisha for a second and then smiled, “Sure!” Sorey thought that Alisha was very pretty, and he had to admit that he had had a bit of a crush on her in Elysia, and maybe still did. It was honestly quite hard not to. She had vibrant green eyes, a shade lighter than Sorey’s. Her hair was naturally curly, but she never seemed to have problems with it nor did it ever seem to frizz. She wore it in a side ponytail, which somehow seemed to work. She also had a very nice feminine build…

 

              “You can Mikleo seemed to get along quite well,” She giggled, a small blush tinting her cheeks.

 

              “Yeah! He was really interesting.” They continued strolling out the gates, talking about random things that had happened both in class and in-between. 

 

~

 

              Edna frowned, “Meebo, you’re feeling really feminine today aren’t you?” Mikleo pursed his lips, shifting back and forth on his feet awkwardly as they walked.

 

              Edna sighed, “Why are you so self-conscious? Who gives a fuck what anyone else thinks?” This earned Edna a halfhearted glare, causing her frown to deepen only further. “If you keep boxing yourself up one day you’re going to explode you idiot.”

 

              “You think I don’t know that?” He snapped back, only feeling slightly guilty at the harsh tone he used.

 

              “You should try to get along with that Sorey,” Edna said, and when Mikleo looked over to her she was staring up at the sky. “You two are both history geeks, right? How often do you get a chance like that,” A wide smirk took over her small face.

 

              “What are you plotting?” Mikleo narrowed his eyes at her.

 

              “Nothing, maybe I just want you to have someone you can talk to other than me.” Mikleo’s heart warmed, and Edna immediately tried to give her words a different meaning, “I mean, you can be really clingy sometimes. Clingleo.”

 

              “Hey!” Mikleo yelled, but he was already smiling. He knew perfectly well what Edna really meant, even if she was too proud to admit that she actually cared.


	2. The Moonlit Rain

              Sorey stared at the pouring rain outside. Edna and Mikleo had still not arrived, but everyone else was assembled. He frowned, wondering if they were stuck in the rain.

 

              Once again on cue, Mikleo burst through the door to Alisha’s room. His hands were on his knees and he was panting heavily. And as he stood water droplets fell to the floor from his hair. One would think that when someone was soaked through in through with water, bangs teased and hair drenched flat they would not look their best. But no, Mikleo looked stunning, perhaps even more mesmerizing than normal. He looked utterly natural soaked with water, and it was an odd feeling to describe.

 

              “Where’s Edna?” Zaveid finally pipes up, Mikleo scowls at him.

 

              “Taking her time with her umbrella.”

 

              Rose laughed, falling into Lailah’s lap as Lailah covered her mouth with false surprise. In fact, no one in the room seemed very surprised at all.

 

              “Ah Mikleo, you’ll catch a cold!” Lailah suddenly stood, Rose fell out of her lap and grumbled something as such happened. She ran up to Mikleo and began mothering him.

 

              “Lailah, you can’t really get a cold from being wet that’s just a myth. The cold is a _virus._ ”

 

              Lailah pouted at this, “Well, you could still get the shivers. And I’m sure it doesn’t feel pleasant never the less!” Mikleo did not deny this, and everyone watched as Lailah frantically ran to the bathroom to get a towel for his hair.

 

              “Sorey,” Rose said sitting up and looking at him in the eye. “First thing you should know about being in our group: Lailah is The Mom Friend™.”

 

 

              “Ahh… I see that,” Sorey smiled rather sheepishly as he watched Lailah gently dry Mikleo’s hair from behind, clearly trying very hard not to ruffle it. Mikleo made no attempt to stop her, despite the sour look on his face. Sorey decided that the result would be the same no matter what Mikleo did.

 

              When Lailah finally finished her mothering, Mikleo took the towel from her and floated over towards the window sill. He lifted himself into it backwards and sat dangling his feet, staring down at everyone else in the room.

             

              “So, what were you all doing before I came in?”

 

              “We were asking Sorey a bunch’a questions!” Rose replied enthusiastically.

 

              “So basically you and Zaveid were interrogating him, like when you two meet anyone new,” Mikleo replied, stopping and cocking a brow at them in the middle of fixing his bangs. Edna chose that moment to waltz in, completely dry.

 

              “Thanks for making me drenched.” Mikleo quipped the second Edna walked in the door.

 

              “Oh, not my fault my umbrella is small Meebo. A small umbrella for a small lady.”

 

              _“We both could’ve easily fit,”_ And like that, they both started bickering relentlessly. Sorey couldn’t hear what they were arguing about, but Mikleo seemed to be losing.

 

              “Those two are always like that,” Alisha turned to Sorey to explain. “It took me a very long time to get used to too. But Edna and her brother essentially adopted Mikleo. They are like true siblings, that is why they bicker.” Alisha smiled at Sorey, and Sorey felt his heart go gooey. His cheeks immediately began to heat up against his will.

 

              “I-I see…” He stuttered in reply.

 

              Alisha giggled and smiled, and Sorey found himself smiling with her. “This group is very unique, but I love everyone here dearly.”

 

              Sorey was about to reply, but Rose beat him to it. She swung her arm around the blonde, “Awe ‘Lisha! You’re so sweet.”

 

              “Rose and Zaveid, have you interrogated Sorey yet?” Edna had apparently finished her argument with Mikleo (who looked utterly defeated). She crossed the small space over to Sorey, spinning around and sitting in front of him. She stared at him with eyes like a lioness hunting its prey.

 

              “Yeah we started, but we didn’t finish yet,” Rose replied casually, taking her arm off Alisha. Suddenly Sorey was in the spotlight again, and he found his heart banging in his chest and his wrists thrumming with nerves. Sorey buried his hands in the soft carpet for comfort, attempting to produce the same effect as someone stroking their service dog to calm their nerves. Edna’s eyes were terrifying, they screamed _“say one thing you don’t like and I’ll eat you whole.”_

Zaveid joined in the seemingly growing circle of people around him, and Lailah did too. When Sorey looked behind him to stare at Mikleo, the boy had his cheek pressed against the window and was watching the rain thrum with a certain calmness. Calm he was, but he also looked deathly lonely.

 

              “Mikleo why don’t you come down here?” Sorey called to him. He pealed his cheek off the window, staring at Sorey with surprise. Sorey almost let his jaw drop, the odd lighting outside was making Mikleo’s face and hair glow, he looked ethereal, untouchable, angelic.

 

              He hesitated. A pensive expression grew on his face before he slid gracefully down from the sill, making no noise as his bare feet hit the ground. “Sure,” He said as he moved to take a place beside Sorey. Sorey immediately forgot about his nerves as he watched the boy walk, his hands loosening in the fuzzy carpet as Mikleo sat down gingerly.

 

              Sorey only got to stare at him a moment longer before the interrogation began.

 

~

 

              The only person who was actually scary was Edna. Rose and Zaveid ended up asking a lot of lighthearted questions, Lailah chipping in here or there and Alisha commenting on things she didn’t know. Mikleo, said nothing. Despite this Sorey could feel Mikleo’s eyes on him the entire time, they were like Falcons watch humans. Interested, calculating and intelligent but never feeling the need to stoop so low as to attack, even if they were perfectly capable of clawing a human’s eyes out. Sorey had this itching feeling that if you asked Mikleo he could probably recall every answer Sorey had given.

 

              “Congrats!” Zaveid yelled, slamming Sorey on the back so hard he actually saw stars for a second. “You passed the test. Even Edna seems mildly impressed.”

 

              An intense and slightly agitated “Mmm” was all that came out of Edna’s mouth.

 

              Suddenly she turned to look at Mikleo, “Meebo, what do you think?” Mikleo, who had previously been staring down at his nails jerked his head up.

 

              “Huh?”

 

              Edna crossed her arms, “You have good taste. If you like him, I like him.” Mikleo’s jaw dropped.

 

              “Did you just say something to me that wasn’t totally insulting?”

 

              “You-“ She opened her mouth to start an argument but Mikleo butt in, apparently deciding not to take the words for granted.

 

              “I think he’s fine. Don’t know why he wouldn’t be.” Mikleo shrugged before giving Sorey a small smile. Then he turned to Edna, “Since when did you worry about other people anyway Enda?” He cocked a brow at her, and the dirty blonde crossed her arms.

 

              “I’m not worried for myself…” She mumbled. Mikleo squinted his eyes, as if analyzing possibilities and outcomes before his eyes widened, and then became soft and warm. When he leaned back and turned straight again a barely noticeable, but incredibly sweet smile was on his face.

 

              Mikleo got back up suddenly, waltzing across the room and reclaiming his spot in the window. He folded his knees to his chest and stared down at everyone. Apparently people took this as a cue to start their own conversations. Edna and Zaveid immediately began arguing about something, Zaveid making flirting attempts at random intervals. Rose and Lailah went to the other side of the room and whispered, occasionally giggling about something.

 

              Alisha giggled beside Sorey, “This, also always happens. We talk for a while all together and then we all end up splitting up and talking. The groups vary, and I do not think we mean to do it.” She gives Sorey a soft smile, but this time he can’t see it and his heart doesn’t flutter.

 

              “Does Mikleo always end up alone?” He asked, staring intently at the boy he spoke of. Alisha seemed briefly surprised, but quickly reeled herself in.

 

              “Well, Mikleo usually ends up talking to everyone a bit. But, he ends up sitting alone at some points. It’s not like we don’t like to talk to him. He just likes to be alone sometimes.” Alisha paused, “Also, Edna told me that he like rain a lot.”

 

              Sorey found himself giggling at this, before turning his attention back to Alisha. “Why don’t you tell me a bit about what happened while you were gone from Elysia?” Alisha immediately jumped into her adventures on how she met everyone, some made him laugh, and some were pretty typical. But those stories are far too long to tell you right here right now.    

 

              At some point Rose joined in our conversation, and at that the groups seemed to switch again. Zaveid and Lailah began to talk, and Edna went to check on Mikleo (hitting him on the head with her umbrella for good measure) before joining them. Despite what Alisha had said, Mikleo stayed by himself in the window sill the entire night.

 

              “Alisha?” Sorey found himself asking after everyone else cleared out.

 

              “Y-yes?” Alisha stuttered, and uncharacteristic trait for her. She spun her hair over her finger, and Sorey couldn’t help but notice that her cheeks were tinted red, he promptly decided to ignore it and turned to face towards the window sill.

 

              “What do you think of Mikleo?”

 

              She stopped twirling her hair, looking a bit sad and disappointed. “Well, I think he’s sweet. He cares about everyone a lot, and yet…” She trailed off. “And yet, it’s like he refuses to care but so much. I can’t explain it, and honestly I do not know nor understand Mikleo all too well myself.”

 

              “Ah well,” Sorey began, standing up and beaming at Alisha. “I don’t really get him either, but I think I’m kind of determined to figure it out.” He scratched the back of his head sheepishly, and Alisha found her eyes softening at the sight.

 

              She giggled, and Alisha’s giggle was like one of those a fairy tale Princess would have. Sorey once again found his body go to moosh at the sound, “I’m sure you will.” She said softly.

 

~

 

              “Alright class,” called the History teacher. His name was Mayvin, an interesting and open man who Sorey often thought looked a bit lonely. Mayvin was always incredibly open to all theories, no matter how radical. He said he took in interest in History because it was a story, a real living one. All his hair was gray, including his curled mustache. Yet, he still seemed to appear young. Perhaps it was his bright un-aging emerald eyes, no one could ever quite put a finger on it.

 

              “We’re going to have a little History project,” he began handing out papers to everyone. “I want you to pick a historical figure from any time period, pick something about them and then write about it.” Sorey found himself lost in the incredibly vague instructions. Mayvin waved his hand, “Read the papers I gave you. Oh, and it’s a pairs project. I’ll let you choose your own partners in a minute.” It took every fiber of Sorey’s being _not_ to whip around and look at Mikleo.

 

              Sorey read through the paper, people asking Mayvin questions when they didn’t understand what he was asking for and the like. When it was finally time to choose partners, Sorey did whip around to look at Mikleo. Mikleo glanced up from his paper to look at Sorey and gave him a sweet, small smile before walking over to his desk and pulling up a chair. “Any ideas?”

 

              “Mmmm…” Sorey hummed, watching Mikleo settle in his seat. “What about Michael Rulay? You know the guy who-“

 

              “Please not him,” Mikleo mumbled. Sorey stared at him, but the albino refused to make eye contact with Sorey.

 

              “O-okay…” Sorey replied, now confused. The two of them went back and forth for a while, listing some of their favorite historical figures. Finally the landed on a lesser known, but talented, general and to write about his battle tactics.

 

              “Ah,” Mikleo said. “If we’re going to work on this together I should probably have your contact information, shouldn’t I?”

             

              “A-ah, of course.” Sorey took Mikleo’s phone from his hand and handed Mikleo his own. Once they were done they both stared at their phones for a second.

 

              “You’re not that far from my house I don’t think,” Mikleo tapped his finger on his chin. “Well-“ The bell rang, and Mikleo gave him a sour frown. He stood up, but continued talking, “We should probably find good websites and books, and then text them to each other…” He hummed thoughtfully, “Then we can split up the references so our notes don’t overlap.”

 

              Sorey couldn’t help but smirk, “You’re one of those people who makes overly detailed plans for everything, aren’t you?”

 

              Mikleo pouted, and Sorey nearly scared himself half to death with his own thoughts over how adorable it was. “So I’ve been told, but I just think I’m organized.” He giggled, and Sorey’s eyes widened and danced.

 

              “Okay then, I’ll go to the library after school and find some books.”

 

              “I would prefer if we finished finding references within three days…” Mikleo was mumbling to himself now, and Sorey tried very, very hard not to snicker (ultimately, he failed).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to get this story rolling, so I'll be updating as quickly as possible for these first couple of chapters. I'm a fairly fast updater at an rate, so don't ever worry about months and months in between chapters :,)
> 
> Thank you all for all the lovely comments last chapter! I wasn't expecting this to get any attention whatsoever lol


	3. The Lightning that Flows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I've been drowning in schoolwork #whoops

              One and a half weeks later, Sorey and Mikleo were basically done with their project. And, Sorey had yet to notice, but his heart throbbed much less than normal when he was around Alisha. Not that that’s particularly relevant.

 

              He and Mikleo were sitting on Sorey’s fluffy couch, attempting to finish up their project. Mikleo was typing furiously and Sorey was reading through the outline in a rather monotone voice. Admittedly, Mikleo turned out to be extremely gifted with words, and his organization skills made sure the short essay flew perfectly.

 

              “Mikleo, what time is it?” Sorey asked, temporarily stopping his droning and attempting to look over Mikleo’s shoulder to see the time on the computer.

 

              “Ah… It’s nine,” He mumbled, Sorey’s eyes widened.

 

              “You didn’t eat dinner before you came here did you?” Mikleo shook his head and continued typing, shifting his position ever so slightly.

 

              “I could order some pizza or something…” At that Mikleo (slightly aggressively) shoved the computer into Sorey’s lap, much to his surprise.

 

              “Do you have stuff to cook with in your fridge?” Mikleo deadpanned, looking Sorey square in the eye.

 

              “Uh, um yes? Gramps is really good about keeping the fridge stocked, even if he’s not around much.”

 

              “Mmm,” Mikleo hummed thoughtfully, tapping his chin out of habit. “Want me to make something?” Sorey felt a smile growing on his face.

 

              “Yeah! You can cook?” He asked perhaps a little bit over enthusiastically. Mikleo snorted in return.

 

              “Of course I can. Edna never cooks and Eizen isn’t always home to, so I have to be able to.” He put his hands on his hips. “And if you can’t cook, _how are you alive?”_ The only response Sorey had to that was nervous laughter and scratching the back of his neck. Mikleo huffed and stalked into the kitchen. “Take a break!” He called from in the kitchen. Sorey smiled because in reality, Mikleo was the one doing most of the work.

 

~

 

              Sorey actually almost cried when he saw Mikleo set a plate of the best looking Mac and Cheese Sorey had ever seen, right in front of his face. Sorey could tell he had used several different cheeses, there were some herbs mixed in there and for _God’s sake even breadcrumbs, I didn’t even know we had those?_

“Figured it would be easy to eat while we worked.” Mikleo reached across Sorey’s lap to grab the computer on the other side of him. Sorey grabbed the bowl of pasta and stared at it for perhaps a moment too long to be normal. “What? Doesn’t suit your tastes?” Mikleo quipped, his hands not slowing on the keyboard and his eyes not even flickering towards Sorey.

 

              Sorey finally shoved a forkful of the Mac and Cheese in his mouth and let out a groan. That, made Mikleo stop typing and look at him. “Sooo good…” And indeed it was. Not even the women in Elysia could make Mac and Cheese this perfect. He glanced over at Mikleo, pleased to see the fond smile that danced across the boy’s lips, but his pleasure was only brief. Sorey frowned, thinking only for a moment before snatching the computer out of Mikleo’s hands and setting it on the other side of him. Mikleo let out something between a whine and a yelp, “You told me to take a break but you’re the one who can’t stop. Eat what you made.”

 

              Mikleo sighed and grabbed his own bowl, beginning to eat. “Ah and also, Mikleo you walked here didn’t you?” Mikleo paused eating.

 

              “Yes, I did.” He spared a glance over at Sorey and was surprised when he found the boy’s expression to be mild concern.

 

              “Maybe you should stay the night. It’s probably not a good idea to walk home much later than this, and it would be a pain anyway.” Surprise and slight anxiety pierced through Mikleo’s gut, and he opened his mouth to protest, only to be abruptly cut off. “Actually, that might be convenient. Tomorrow is Saturday, if you stayed I could just drive you to Alisha’s when I go.”

 

              “M-mm. If you’d prefer…” The boy stuttered uncharacteristically. Sorey glanced down at Mikleo’s hands, watching as he ran the pad of his thumb over a fingernail absentmindedly.

 

              “What’s wrong?” Mikleo opened his mouth, looking prepared to protest or deny the statement. “Don’t say nothing, you always do that when you’re nervous or upset,” Sorey nodded at the boy’s hand. Mikleo looked down at his hands, wrinkling his nose and glaring at them as if it was their fault for giving him away. Sorey watched in interest as the boy closed his eyes, tilted his head back, and took a breath before allowing then to flutter open again, the violet now seeming cool and calm

 

              “Where would be the best place for me to sleep?”

 

              A giant, childish grin grew over Sorey’s face. “We have a guest bedroom and you can sleep there!” Sorey stood up so quickly Mikleo flinched with surprise. “Ah, you’ll need something to sleep in and a tooth brush…” Sorey mumbled, pacing out of the room. Mikleo couldn’t help but giggle fondly as he watched the boy leave.

 

              “It’s far too easy to make you excited,” He grumbled fondly whilst grabbing the computer again. He stared at the screen, defiantly choosing to ignore the fact that the words he was typing were beginning to become blurrier with each tap of a finger.

 

~

 

              It was nearly midnight when Sorey finally obligated to rip the computer out of Mikleo’s hands. Mikleo whined profusely, attempting to reach across Sorey’s lap to grab it. Sorey simply settled a hand on the smaller boy’s fine shoulder, easily keeping him back as he aggressively clicked the red x in the corner of the screen (saving first, of course).

 

              “Mikleo, we literally have half a week left there’s no need to hurry.” He whispered, hushing Mikleo. Mikleo pouted, and then sighed irritably before backing away from Sorey.

 

              “Fine.” He said, crossing his arms across his chest and pouting. Mikleo stood gracefully and turned away from Sorey, placing his hands on his hips and turning halfway back around to face him. “Find anything for me to sleep in?”

 

              Sorey, nearly jumped out of his skin, having realized at he had been staring at the silver haired boy a little bit too intently. “U-um… Yeah, I put clothes in the bathroom for you. They should fit alright, they’re from when I was younger.” Mikleo looked sour at the mention of his smaller build, but simply huffed and turned around to walk out, stretching his arms over his head as he did so. Sorey unconsciously found his eyes locked on the boy’s twisting hips face promptly erupting in flames after realizing what he was doing, and looked away from the unaware Mikleo.

 

              Sorey decided that he was mildly delusional should go to bed, right now.

 

~

 

              At 8 o’ clock AM Mikleo could be found glaring at himself in Sorey’s mirror. Unfortunately, this was no longer entirely uncommon. Mikleo was never quite happy with his body, no matter what kind of mood he was in. Mikleo usually felt somewhere between masculine and feminine, but of course it was more complicated than that. There were days where he felt masculine, and hated his build because he was not a masculine looking person, there were days when he felt feminine and it annoyed him relentlessly that he was not brave enough to look the part, there were even days where he didn’t feel like being anything, and then there were days like today. Where he felt somewhere in-between male and female, and just wished the very aspect of gender didn’t exist. He often didn’t know what to do with himself on days like this.

 

              Around the same time Sorey was also glaring, but he at the very alarm he had set himself. Grumbling, he rolled out of bed, stretching his limbs when his feet finally touched the floor. He began to pad over to the bathroom, only to be nearly hit in the face with the door as Mikleo walked out.

 

              “A-ah, sorry…” Mikleo mumbled. Sorey cocked an eyebrow at Mikleo. The boy’s voice was hoarse, and he was looking down adamantly at the carpet. Sorey dismissed it as lack of sleep. Mikleo looked up, rubbing at his eyes tiredly as he did so. Sorey took a step back noting that the clothes he had lent Mikleo were just slightly big. They were gray sweatpants and a white T-Shirt, but the T-Shirt hung off his shoulder a bit and the drawstring around his pants had clearly been pulled completely tight. Sorey found himself giggling and the endearing sight.

 

              “What are you laughing at?” Mikleo grumbled, sending Sorey a tired glare.

 

              “Not a morning person?” Sorey questioned. Mikleo blinked and then softened his glare, seeming to suddenly become aware of how grumpy he was being.

 

              “No I actually am. Guess I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed, sorry,” He mumbled softly. Mikleo skirted around Sorey, straightening himself out and walking with more controlled movements as he did so. Sorey weighed his options for a moment before leaning back to look at Mikleo.

 

              “Hey, are you sure nothing is wrong?” He called out. Mikleo visibly flinched and stopped moving, and then turned around to stare at Sorey.

 

              “I’m fine,” he said a bit too softly with a plastered smile on his face. Sorey’s stomach sank, every bone in his body screaming that no, his friend was not fine. But Mikleo continued walking, not giving Sorey a chance to reply. Sorey began to wonder if Mikleo’s hoarse voice and dreary red eyes were just from sleep.

 

~

 

              It was raining again. Mikleo had changed into a pair of old jeans and a plain black shirt that apparently he always kept in his backpack. That had granted him some teasing about how over prepared it was, but it worked well since he could just drive Mikleo straight to Alisha’s.

 

              “Alisha said you like rain, is that true?” Mikleo slowly un-plastered his face from the window to turn and face Sorey. Sorey took the chance to take his eyes away from the open road for a second to look at him, he had a soft but calculating expression on his face, and Sorey could almost see the cogs churning through Mikleo’s brain. He briefly wondered why Mikleo couldn’t just say what was on his mind.

 

              “I do,” his was voice surprisingly soft. “Actually, I like water in general. It makes me calm. Well natural water does anyway…” Mikleo was looking out the window again, seeming to be in another world.

 

              “Do you get anxious easily?” Mikleo jerked so hard Sorey could hear it, and he snorted, which only caused Mikleo’s face to become further offended. Mikleo opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water.

 

              Finally, “Not like you do.”

 

              Now it was Sorey’s turn to be surprised. It took him a few seconds to process the simple four word sentence. Finally as it seemed to piece together he whipped towards Mikleo, “EH?” Mikleo giggled, it was a soft pleasant noise which Sorey had come to be rather fond of. His hammering heart slowed in his chest and he put his eyes back on the road desperately.

 

              “Alisha and the others might be oblivious, but you have way too many nervous ticks to be normal. Your breathing becomes uneven sometimes, and you stutter and scratch your neck when you’re feel guilty, or when you’re lying. But then again, I guess you get guilty when you lie.” Sorey’s mouth fell open to stare at the boy next to him, who was paying Sorey no mind after having just listed some of his least noticeable quirks as if he was reading of a list.

 

              “Sorey,” Mikleo said seriously, turning towards him as they pulled into Alisha’s driveway. “It’s okay if you don’t trust me, but if you do trust me please tell me when something wrong.” And with that he disappeared from the car, walking with miraculous grace towards the front door.

 

              Sorey banged his head on the car’s wheel, just barely missing the horn. “Shit I’m doomed.”

 

~

 

              The second they arrived Mikleo crawled into the window sill, but this time Sorey was determined not to let him sneak off alone. Sorey waltzed across the room, pulling himself into the window backwards and forcing Mikleo to tuck his knees up to his chest so that they could both fit.

 

              “Mikleo…” He found himself saying quietly. Mikleo locked eyes with him, sensing the importance of the conversation. “You’ve only known me for two weeks, how did you figure all that out?” Mikleo tilted his head, thinking and formulating his response.

 

              “Once I set my eyes on something I can’t stop until I’ve learned everything, and I can’t concentrate on anything else until I’m satisfied.”

 

              Sorey turned potential meanings of those words over in his head, before deciding to simply change the subject. “The water thing, I think I kind of understand it.” Mikleo quirked an eyebrow at Sorey in surprise, “Only for me, it’s just thunderstorms.” Sorey found himself looking out the window as thunder began to roll, the window sill vibrating ever so slightly underneath their bare feet. Mikleo turned around so that his back was pressed into Sorey’s shoulder, and Sorey found himself turning so that their backs were facing each other comfortably, and for some reason the position felt natural, even if they had never been remotely this close before.

 

              “Water and lightning, huh…” Mikleo trailed off, voice sleepy from the dreary quiet weather.

 

              Sorey cleared his throat, “Lightning runs through the raging current-“

 

              “Sorey no, no bad poetry please,” Mikleo groaned over the ruined mood. Suddenly the door banged open, and Mikleo almost fell of the window sill in surprise, Sorey having to make a bar with his arm so he didn’t. Sorey burst out laughing and the pale albino’s face burst in to flames as he gave Sorey a sharp elbow in the back.

 

              “Owe Mikleo that hurt!” He yelped before elbowing the boy in the side back.

 

              “That’s the point idiot,” Mikleo snapped back, elbowing Sorey even harder. They both continued this practice for a while, both of them almost falling off the window sill several times.

 

              “Looks like you two are getting along fine,” Edna called smugly. Mikleo sent her an ice turning glare and Sorey gave her a sheepish grin.

 

              “Alisha you have to have some big ass windows to be able to hold two guys like this,” Rose drawled. “Then again, Mikleo is tiny,” She smirked, Edna looking pleased at Mikleo’s rather irritated face. Sorey dropped down from the sill, leaving Mikleo to press his cheek back against the window, a distant gaze already taking over his expression.

 

              “I was thinking about going somewhere today, but I suppose since it’s raining again it would be a lovely day to simply talk,” Alisha said, a soft smile gracing her lips.

 

              “Sounds good,” Sorey said. He grabbed Mikleo’s waist, causing the surprised boy to make a high pitched squeak before he hoisted him over his shoulder. Mikleo was momentarily stunned (as was the rest of the room), but the second he regained he composure he dug his foot into Sorey’s stomach.

 

              “What are doin-“ Sorey set Mikleo back down on the floor, laughing at the _very_ red embarrassment on his face.

 

              “You’re not sitting in that window sill all day.” Mikleo puffed his cheeks of defiantly, crossing his arms across his chest and looking away like a child.

             

              “You didn’t have to pick me up,” Mikleo grumbled. Sorey noted that Mikleo’s ears turned bright red when he was really embarrassed.

 

              “ _Sorry princess-_ owe!” He yelled as Mikleo moved at the speed of light to grab his cheek and pinch it harshly. Sorey rubbed his cheek and pouted, deciding that _yes maybe calling him princess had been going too far._ But he was surprised that when he dared look at Mikleo in the face he was not genuinely angry, but instead there was another emotion that Sorey couldn’t put a finger on. While Sorey can’t tell you what that emotion was, I will go ahead it will tell you it was something along the lines of self-loathing and sentimentality.

 

              “Well it seems my job has suddenly become a hell of a lot easier,” Edna prodded. Her job being teasing Mikleo, of course.

 

~

 

              They all somehow ended up in a circle. Sitting on either side of Sorey were Alisha and Mikleo, and next to Mikleo was Edna, whom Mikleo was quietly bickering with.

 

              “Oh!” Rose gasped, “You guys gotta get a load of this, guess what happened?” Lailah, who was sitting beside Rose made a noise that sounded somewhat along the lines of _‘ohhh?’_

“I broke up with Dezel,” Rose said, crossing her arms proudly.

 

              “Finally,” Edna groaned. “He was such an asshole.”

 

              “I second that,” called Zaveid.

 

              It might have been Sorey’s imagination, but Lailah’s voice seemed filled with a bit too much delight, “Oh what happened?” She asked innocently, fluttering her pretty blonde eyelashes.

 

              “He was, well an asshole.” Rose deadpanned. “I mean gee I would have been fine with us just remaining friends, but he had to be so pissy about it.”

 

              “Well,” Lailah drew out. “Dezel isn’t a _bad person._ He’s just… Really possessive!” She said, Sorey couldn’t tell if she was honestly attempting to help or not.

 

              “Uh-huh.” Rose replied flatly, and the two began whispering back and forth privately.

 

              Sorey turned towards Alisha, “Who…?”

 

              Alisha turned back towards Sorey, “Well, Dezel is- pardon me, _was_ Rose’s boyfriend.” Alisha paused, “I’m still not quite sure how they met…”

 

              “He’s really not that important,” Mikleo cut in. “If he’s really on Rose’s bad side I promise you’ll never meet him.” He mumbled something under his breath that Sorey swore sounded like, _‘I’ll be surprised if he’s alive to ever meet anyone again.’_

“Uh-huh…” Sorey replied. Alisha stood up beside him.

 

              “Sorey I’m going to make some lunch, want to help?” Sorey stared at her for a brief second.

 

              “Alisha you know I can’t cook…” Alisha giggled, and somewhere in the back of Sorey’s head it registered that he should be a blushing mess right now, but he wasn’t.

 

              “Indeed I do, but I’ll give you something you can handle, maybe I can even teach you a bit!” She smiled, Sorey softened and stood.

 

              “Why not, if you really need help I’m not one to decline.” He smiled in return and waltzed out of the room with her.

 

              “Mikleo…” Edna said thoughtfully, Mikleo ripped his eyes away from Sorey.

 

              “Hmm?”

 

              “Do you think Sorey likes Alisha back?”

 

              Mikleo paused, and then a sad smile appeared on his face. “No,” He said quietly. “No I don’t.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So not much (like the last two chapters jesus) happened here, but from here on the pace will be slowly picking up. I needed to set some boundaries and give you a better understanding of the characters and the situations everyone is in.
> 
> Oh and sorry if you really like Dezel. ;-; I honestly don't hate him but uh, yeah. *hides under table*


	4. And So, When the World Falls Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a scene where Mikleo gets a bit of gender dysphoria in this chapter. Whilst I don't show the whole thing and don't go into very much depth about it for very long, please be aware that that scene is there if you're super sensitive to that stuff :)

Sorey wasn’t paying any attention to Alisha.

 

              His mind was elsewhere, and whilst Alisha was kind enough to recognize that Sorey had his own problems, it still bothered her greatly. Alisha had become aware of her crush the second she had met Sorey, and she had very quickly divulged it to Rose. When Sorey came to school in Ladylake, Rose being the perceptive person that she is, immediately pointed out Sorey’s stuttering and red cheeks whenever he was around Alisha, and called it proof that he liked her back.

 

              But recently Alisha had noticed that Sorey’s stuttering and reddening cheeks weren’t so common, and now they were completely alone, cooking, and he wasn’t even paying attention to her.

 

              “Sorey, can you fetch me some lettuce and tomatoes from the fridge?” Sorey immediately perked up, most likely from the idea of being somewhat useful and jogged over to the fridge to grab what was asked for.

 

              “You seem a little out of it,” she inquired thoughtfully. “Are you alright?”

 

              Sorey seemed startled, he flinched and brought his hand to rub the back of his neck sheepishly, “R-really? I’m sorry for worrying you!” He set down the ingredients and instead went to thoughtfully staring at the ceiling. “It’s just, Mikleo seemed kind of out of it this morning. I thought it was just him being tired, but now that I think about it…”

 

              Alisha immediately felt a burning sensation in her throat and stomach. Her chest seemed to twist with some unknown emotion followed by immense guilt, and she decided very quickly she didn’t like this feeling one bit. “You and Mikleo clicked rather quickly, didn’t you?” She asked softly.

 

              Sorey laughs, it’s a sweet genuine sound, one Alisha has become very fond of. “I guess we did huh? I guess we’re both history nerds, which helped a lot.” He hummed, maybe even one could describe it as a fond hum.

 

              Alisha paused, considering her words before speaking. “Rose always said Mikleo was different from the rest of us.” Sorey looks up at her, eyes wide with surprise. Alisha’s eyes widen too, and she shakes her hands in front of her face desperately, “Not in a bad way! But… This is probably going to sound weird but… Rose has really good instincts, about people and just in general. Rose could never explain it to me properly, but she says he just is.” Alisha pauses, considering how to word her next sentence better than her last. “Also, Edna and Lailah seem to know something about him. I know it’s probably obvious, but I think he’s an incredibly complex person who likes keeping things to himself. I don’t think he would ever hurt you, he really is sweet but… You… Should be careful…” She trails off, now completely embarrassed. She dares to glance at Sorey, only to no longer find him looking at her but instead at the ceiling.

 

              “Isn’t that what makes him interesting though?” Sorey asks. Alisha stares at him, waiting for him to explain himself further, but he doesn’t. Instead he simply looks down at her and smiles warmly. Alisha feels her heart jump into her chest and she struggles to keep her face straight and professional.

 

              “I-I suppose… I really do like Mikleo don’t get me wrong, but I guess I’m just better with the more honest types…” She side eyed Sorey, allowing her eyes to twinkle a bit, but his smile just broadens.

 

              “I understand that,” He said simply. “Need me to do anything else? Or, I’m happy to just stay and keep you company.”

 

              Alisha hums, “Company would be nice.”

 

~

 

              Mikleo was starting to feel like he was going to throw up.

 

              He couldn’t find a comfortable position to sit where he wasn’t reminded that _gender exists and you’re supposed to identify as one or the other._ He shifted again, finally deciding to sit with his knees pulled up loosely, not completely to his chest, and his feet pushed out farther to either side of him so that his knees were angled. He had lost track of Edna and Lailah’s conversation, who had both seemed to migrate towards him in realization that he was uncomfortable. His gender dysphoria today was the worse it had been in quite some time, and he was absolutely positive at this point that as soon as he got home he was going to have a nice mental breakdown. His breathing was already becoming raged and he knew that he would be able to do little to stop the onslaught of sudden uncomfortableness with his own body.

 

              The door creaked open and Alisha walked in with a plate of sandwiches, Sorey looking oddly proud beside her. Mikleo couldn’t see the contents of the sandwiches from where he was sitting, mostly because the thought of food currently made him feel sick, and he wasn’t exactly struggling to look.

 

              “Who wants sandwiches?” Alisha called, smiling brightly. Everyone in the room crowded around her, but he elected to look elsewhere, his eyes ending up finding the wood on Alisha’s bed suddenly very interesting.

 

              “You didn’t eat breakfast did you?” Mikleo started at the soft voice, flinching before looking up to see a sandwich shoved close to his face, and green eyes resting behind it.

 

              “Yeah, but I never do,” Mikleo explained, waving his hand. “I’m not really hungry, I’ll eat when I get home.”

 

              “Don’t worry about him Sorey he’ll eat. Meebo is a lot of things but he’s not stupid. Plus, even if he didn’t eat I’d shove food down his face.” Mikleo didn’t need to look to see the snarky blonde speaking clearly. Sorey still looked worried though, despite Edna’s words.

 

              “I usually eat lunch later than this Sorey, and I haven’t eaten breakfast ever since I can remember.  I just don’t like eating early,” Mikleo attempted to reassure. It wasn’t entirely a lie, Mikleo did usually eat later and the nausea in his stomach usually subsided after a while, especially if he was in the comfort of his own home. Sorey sighed, appearing somewhat satisfied before plopping down beside Mikleo.

 

              “Mikleo would live off of tea if he could. It’s pretty ridiculous,” Enda puffs. Sorey raises an eyebrow at Mikleo. Mikleo returns Sorey’s gaze with an indignant glare.

 

              “So what? I really like tea.”

 

              Edna snorts, “That’s an understatement.”

 

              Mikleo groans, “Edna I’m not that bad!”

 

              The two began bickering. Sorey watches in amazement as they get continuously louder and more hands-y, Edna pushing every single one of Mikleo’s buttons with zero hesitation.

 

              “You two that’s enough!” Lailah finally says, stomping her food down for emphasis. It’s not particularly threatening or scary, and yet Mikleo and Edna both go completely silent. Edna huffing and Mikleo looking slightly relieved. It’s only when Mikleo turned forward that Sorey notices that Mikleo’s face looks all too pale. He turned to Edna who was now eyeing Mikleo with similar concern.

 

              Mikleo stood up calmly, brushing off non-existent dust. “I’ll be right back,” he mumbled, before walking out of the room with carefully hidden urgency. Edna and Lailah shared a look, and Lailah followed not far behind him, freshly dyed red tips swaying with her quickening pace.

 

              “Is… He sick?” Alisha asked hesitantly with genuine concern.

 

              Enda grunted before adjusting her position, folding her legs up beside her and tapping her umbrella on her ankle. “Well, I’m sure he feels sick.”

 

              “What do you-“ But Sorey silently put a finger over his lips, having enough sense to realize that it’s personal enough Edna wasn’t going to talk about it. Alisha fell quiet in understanding, nodding at Sorey silently.

 

              That didn’t mean Sorey wouldn’t ask Mikleo about it later, though.

             

              “Stupid Meebo,” Edna grumbled angrily under her breath. “We’re not all mind readers.”

 

~

 

              The next time Sorey looked at his watch Mikleo had been gone for over an hour. His eyes widened with surprise, having completely lost track of time in the midst of Rose and Zaveid taking turns telling stupid stories. He looked over to Edna, who although was doing a good job pretending she wasn’t, Sorey was positive was worried. The rain was still pattering on the window, and Sorey found himself amazed at the group’s ability to lounge around for hours chatting. It was comfortable, and had clearly been done many times before.

 

              The door creaked open and Mikleo slipped in silently, Lailah following with similar grace. Now that he looked at the two of them together they carried themselves very similarly, waltzing silently with little effort and unspeakable grace, like supernatural beings.

 

              Mikleo sat next to Edna and they began whispering, Edna hitting him over the head with an umbrella fairly early into the conversation. Lailah joined Rose, and Rose whispered a couple of words to Lailah, Lailah simply shaking her head in response.

 

              Sorey turned back towards Mikleo, taking in his appearance. He still looked pale and fragile, his hands and arms were shaking ever so slightly underneath his weight as he leaned forward to speak with Edna. Edna was scolding him, but Sorey couldn’t make out the words.

 

              Suddenly Edna stood up, tugging on Mikleo’s hand and aggressively pulling him up. “We’re leaving see you on Monday bye,” she called as she paced out the door.

 

              “Sorry,” Mikleo said, waving politely. Sorey actually flinched at his voice as Edna dragged him away. It was so hoarse and scratchy, it sounded like it would hurt to breath. He stumbled awkwardly out the door and Edna has to catch him, his former grace completely forgotten.

 

~

 

              “Mikleo!” Sorey yelled, sprinting towards the unsuspecting albino and wrapping his arms around him from behind.

 

              “Uwah! Sorey! What are you doing?” Mikleo squeaked in reply, flushing furiously. He turned around to face Sorey, cheeks blown out and fists clenched in childish anger. Sorey had already let go of Mikleo, so now he took a step back to stare at the boy.

 

              “Are you alright? You didn’t look so good Saturday…” Sorey pouted, looking Mikleo over and taking in his usual appearance in search of clues for his wellbeing.

 

              “Mmm. I’m fine, I just felt really queasy Saturday.”

             

              Sorey nodded, even with knowing it wasn’t the full truth. People were weaving around them in the school hallway. It was odd but, even though people accidently bumped and elbowed Sorey in their hurry to get to class, they seemed to move around Mikleo effortlessly, like calm water parting graciously around a stone in its wake. The brick walls and dim lighting made it hard to focus on anything but Mikleo, and the world around him seemed to blur, so that only the strange boy was standing in front of him.

 

              “I’m going to be late for class. See you in lunch and history.” Mikleo spun back around, leaving Sorey to snap out of his trance as he watched the silver hair disappear into the crowd, people now parting in his own wake.

 

              “You know,” Sorey whispered, to no one but himself. “You can tell me when somethings wrong too.”

 

~

 

              “Maybe you should just move in, since you always seem to somehow end up in my house.” Mikleo pulled a face at Sorey’s words, turning back to his book.

 

              “You’re the one that told me I could show up at you front door whenever I wanted. Plus, Eizen came home. And as much as I love Eizen by himself, it’s really not fun when Edna is in the house and there’s even more bickering and yelling than usual.” Mikleo grunts graciously.

 

              It’s been three weeks since Mikleo’s… Episode? What can I say, I love my time skips. School has been in for a little over a month, and Sorey and Mikleo have known each other for the same amount of time.

 

              “Also,” Mikleo added, to Sorey’s surprise. Sorey stopped his walk towards his friend to look at him. Mikleo peaks over from out of his book, “You get lonely when your Gramps isn’t here, don’t you?” Sorey’s eyes widened, staring into the calculating lilac eyes which were now resting on him. They have a sharp edge to them, it’s not bone chilling or cold, but it’s intense. Sorey sighed, sitting down by Mikleo’s feet. The pale boy’s legs were pulled up, and his head was resting on the couch’s armrest.

 

              “Am I that obvious?” Sorey groaned, leaning dramatically to the side and resting himself comfortably on Mikleo’s legs. Mikleo flinched, even though Sorey is positive he can barely feel him underneath his jeans. That’s one thing everyone who met Sorey always had to get used to, he’s a lot more, put lightly, touchy-feely than most people are right off the bat.

 

              That being said, Sorey had always found Mikleo especially comfortable for some reason.

 

              “Only if you pay attention.” Mikleo deadpanned in return, pulling his book closer to his face. They sat in a comfortable silence for a moment before Mikleo shifted, pulling himself up and bringing his legs closer to him. Sorey got off of him, turning to look at the other boy who now had his chin resting on top of his knees, and his book sitting on the coffee table.

 

              “Do you like Alisha?” The question comes from nowhere, and Sorey’s face lit on fire in response.

 

              “I well-uhm… You see…” He stuttered, trying to find the words for the situation he was in. He looked into the boys calculating, patient eyes and gulped. Sorey looked down and spoke quietly, “I used to have a crush on her, I don’t think I do anymore though…”

 

              “Mmm…” Mikleo hummed quietly. “I thought so, but Alisha seems to like you so I wanted to know…” Sorey’s eyes widened, staring at Mikleo’s thoughtful and mildly concerned expression.

 

              “W-wait she likes me? Then…”

 

              “Just don’t lead her on, she isn’t an idiot. She’ll figure out that you don’t see her as more than a friend if you let her know.”

 

              “Shouldn’t I just tell her…?” Mikleo crinkled his nose and then sighed.

 

              “You’re very simple aren’t you?” He tightened his arms around his knees. “She hasn’t actually told you she likes you, so wouldn’t it seem kind of weird and arrogant, if you just walked up to her and _assumed?”_

“I-I guess? I don’t know…” Sorey said hesitantly, looking at Mikleo for help, Mikleo sighed.

 

              “Do you think anything through?” Mikleo grumbled, giving Sorey an exasperated glare. “You’re also brutally honest, it’s kind of amazing.”

 

              “Brutally honest…?” Sorey pouted. Sorey turned and leaned forward close to Mikleo’s face, Mikleo managing to keep his steady glare. “You know Mikleo,” Sorey said, using a similar tone to one a child would use when they thought something was unfair. “I feel like you know everything about me but I know nothing about you.” Sorey gives Mikleo an indignant pout, and watches with strange satisfaction as the boy’s face lights on fire. Mikleo buried his own face into his knees, and tightened his grip on himself.

 

              “I don’t like talking about myself.” He mumbled, voice coming out barely audible from being buried in his own legs.

 

              “But I like to hear stuff about you.” Sorey replied honestly. Mikleo lifted his head, cheeks on fire and eyes dancing wildly.

 

              “W-what am I supposed to talk about?” He choked, it was his turn to be a stutter-y mess now. Sorey smirked.

 

              “Oh… What about how in the world Edna and Eizen ended up practically adopting you?” Sorey prodded, only feeling a little built guilty for invading Mikleo’s personal life. Mikleo seemed to grow stiff, and Sorey wondered if he had accidently poked at something forbidden without knowing it.

 

              “I knew Edna and Eizen from a long time ago, we used to live in the same neighborhood. My mother moved a lot, she could never settle down.” Mikleo crinkled his nose and looked away from Sorey. “My mother died, Edna heard about it and dragged me over to her house and gave me a place to stay. Eizen somehow won a giant court argument over who should be my legal guardian. That’s all that there is to it.” Sorey’s eyes widened in horror, biting down on his lip.

 

              “Sorry for prodding…” Sorey mumbled guiltily, not quite sure if he should move to comfort the boy.

 

              “It’s fine, that was two years ago. I’m not upset and I didn’t have to answer if I didn’t want to.” He stated plainly. Sorey crinkled his nose, finding himself desperately wanting to touch his friend, who now refused to make eye contacting with him.

 

              “Mikleo…” Sorey said softly. “You told me if I trusted you, I could confide in you. Same goes for you too, you know.” Mikleo made eye contact with Sorey, and it was impossible for Sorey to be unaware of the vulnerable expression on his face. He looks smaller, and his eyes were wide. The way he was hugging his knees suddenly reminded Sorey of a frightened child.

 

              “Thank you,” Mikleo whispered. “I’ll remember that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did quite a bit of researcher for gender dysphoria for this chapter, and whilst I understand that gender dysphoria is different for everyone (and there are different types of it for different situations blahblahblah), as is genderfluidity, please feel free to yell at me if I did anything that portrays gender dysphoria/genderfluidity incorrectly, as I am not genderfluid myself (Funfact: I'm actually asexual ~(^-^~) Yep, an asexual writing shipping fanfic >.> ). I wouldn't want to offend anyone or make anyone uncomfortable or upset.


	5. It Will No Longer Pour, but Rain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I'm the only person who actually uses chapter titles lol (I love labeling chapters though whoops)

              It was the end of October. The weather was mild, there was only a bit of a chill. The leaves were no longer all beautiful orange and reds, instead many of them were dying. A chilly wind blew and leaves scattered in front of Sorey and Mikleo’s path on the side walk, Mikleo shivered and unconsciously drifted closer to Sorey for warmth.

 

              “Cold?” Sorey giggled. Mikleo jerked, realizing how close he had drifted and moved back to a respectful distance, hair blowing around his red cheeks in the wind.

 

              “Always,” he replied. Mikleo was wearing an oversized blue sweatshirt, and a white scarf, and of course his trademark navy-blue jeans.

 

              “We’re almost to my house, I can turn up the heat once we’re there.” Sorey encouraged. Mikleo grunted in reply, turning away from Sorey to observe the dying leaves scattered across the sidewalk.

 

              Sorey turned forward, becoming lost in thought.

 

              A couple of weeks ago Rose had brought of the fact that she was actually bisexual. No one was really surprised, and it wasn’t a big dramatic coming out, simply a casual comment on their conversation. But it left Sorey wondering.

 

              What was gender in a relationship?

 

              Sorey had never really thought about it. Maybe, he pondered, it was because he grew up in Elysia, where no one ever seemed to bring it up either way. Sorey bit down on his lip, and his eyes unconsciously drifted towards his feet. Sorey had never pondered over gender when thinking of a love, was that normal?

 

              If his love came out to him as something different than their assigned gender, what would he do?

 

              “Sorey?” Said person jerked up, staring at the albino who was now stopped a few feet behind him. He had worry written and etched all over his face, and his red nose was scrunched up. “Are you alright? You seem out of it.”

 

              “Mm-mm… Just thinking.”

 

              “Okay,” Mikleo said, white eyebrows furrowing in further concern. Mikleo walked to stand next to Sorey, analyzing his expression. “Now I’m really worried, since when did you actually think?”

 

              “H-hey!” Sorey protested. “I think!”

 

              “Sure you do,” Mikleo replied, rolling his eyes before his face became once again concerned. It was gentle now though, soft and welcoming. “But really Sorey, do you need to talk about something?”

 

              Sorey’s eyes narrowed, staring at the sweet boy in front of him. He pursed his lips and gritted his teeth, forcing himself to smile gently. “I’m fine, please don’t worry about me.” He said softly.

 

              Unspeakable hurt flashed across Mikleo’s face before he turned away from the brunette, carrying on his walk towards Sorey’s house, dead leaves crunching tauntingly under his feet. But, Sorey failed to notice the pained expression, already looking in the other direction and continuing his thought process.

 

~

 

              Mikleo was about to lose his mind.

 

              He was sitting on Sorey’s couch and watching as the boy’s breath grew more and more uneven. Faster, shallower, more and more desperate. The boy’s bright green eyes were dancing with panicked emotions Mikleo couldn’t understand. And it was even more aggravating because something had been bothering Sorey for weeks, and the idiot _wouldn’t tell him._

When Sorey’s hands started to shake Mikleo had had enough.

 

              “Sorey, this is ridiculous.” Mikleo snapped, unintentionally sounding impatient and pushy. But then, that’s how Mikleo felt, so one could suppose it fit the situation.

 

              “W-wha?” Sorey sputtered, snapping out of his ever-deepening daze. His eyes widened when he took in Mikleo’s extremely irritated expression, an unusual look on the calm, patient boy. Apart from when he was teased, of course.

 

              Mikleo’s face scrunched up in pain, “I know you just told me not to worry but I’m already worried. _What’s wrong?”_ His voice trembled desperately on the last word, making Sorey’s eyes widen. No normal human being could look at someone with that much worry and concern, without even knowing what they were worried about.

 

              “I-It’s really nothing Mikleo…” He replied softly, attempting to coax the growingly concerned boy beside him. Mikleo opened his mouth to protest, but Sorey beat him to it. “It’s really nothing. I’m just overthinking, it’s stupid.” His voice seemed to grow quieter and quieter with every word he spoke.

 

              Mikleo sighed, and the irritation from his expression relaxing into fondness. He gave Sorey a small smile, “I can decide that if it’s really all that stupid if you tell me what it is.” Silence filled the room, and Sorey dared take a glance at Mikleo’s expression. It was patient and expecting, hopefully maybe.

 

              Sorey looked forward, and took a deep breath. “Do you think gender matters in a relationship?”

 

              Mikleo’s jaw dropped, and then he snorted. Sorey watched in horror as Mikleo began to giggle, covering his hand politely over his mouth as his eyes shone. “So,” Mikleo choked. “You’re questioning your sexuality?”

 

              Sorey found his face going red. “W-well, no. Yes? I don’t know! I told you it was stupid…” He grumbled. Mikleo’s expression softened again as his giggles died down.

 

              “No, it’s not. And I’m glad you chose to talk about it with me.” Mikleo turned to face forward, kicking his feet out and hitting the couch rhythmically. “Elaborate?”

 

              “W-well…” Sorey began, thinking about how to explain the utter turmoil in his mind. “I guess… I just never really thought about gender at all when it came to romantic relationships.” He mumbled quietly. “Even when I had a crush on Alisha, I never really thought about the fact that she was a girl. She was just… A person, who I really liked.” Sorey paused to look at Mikleo, his eyes were still thoughtfully trained on Sorey. Confidence increasing, Sorey continued. “So I thought, ‘What if Alisha was a boy?’”

 

              “And…?” Mikleo said with false curiosity, already knowing the answer.

 

              “I decided it wouldn’t matter,” Soey said softly. “Maybe I would be less aware of the crush, but it would still be the same.” Mikleo’s expression softened into a gentle smile. “But then,” Sorey continued, catching Mikleo off guard. “I wondered, _what if Alisha, or anyone I liked decided to identify as something different than their gender?”_ Mikleo’s breath caught in his throat, and he found his eyes boring into the side of Sorey’s head. Sorey turned towards Mikleo, giving him a gentle smile.

 

              “I decided it wouldn’t matter at all.”

 

              Mikleo’s eyes widened, dancing. Mikleo, suddenly not knowing what to do with the well of emotion burbling inside of him turned away from Sorey, and resumed kicking the couch, this time harder.

 

              “P-pan,” Mikleo mumbled.

 

              “Huh?” Sorey questioned, tilting his head at the albino.

 

              “Pansexual. If everything you said is true that would make you pansexual.” Sorey simply gave him a very confused look.

 

              “Pansexual…?”

 

              Mikleo huffed, “It means you love all genders, and non-genders. You’re not bisexual, bi’s only like strictly males and females. Pans don’t care if someone is trans, non-binary, genderfluid…” Mikleo’s voice seems to trail off softly.

 

              “Mmff. That’s confusing.” Sorey furrowed his eyebrows, and Mikleo found himself giggling. Sorey looked at Mikleo curiously, “What are you? If, you don’t mind me asking.”

 

              Mikleo’s eyes widened, “S-sexual wise? I guess…” He furrowed his brows in thought. “Honestly I haven’t thought about it too much. I guess I lean towards males, but in the end I don’t care all that much.” Mikleo shrugged, and looked away from Sorey. “I’ve never really had a crush on anyone,” he mumbled softly. Sorey giggled gently, giving Mikleo a fond look.

 

              “Guess you don’t really feel a need to put labels on yourself, huh?”

 

              Mikleo pursed his lips. “Not on my sexuality, no.” He mumbled, Sorey raised an eyebrow.

 

              “On something else then?” He asked hesitantly, Mikleo shifted and seemed to push himself away from Sorey.

 

              “Mikleo?”

 

              Nothing.

 

              “Mikleo.”

 

              Mikleo turned around, eyeing Sorey guiltily. “Is there something you need to tell me Mikleo?” Sorey said softly, like talking to a child. Mikleo crinkled his nose and faced forward, letting silence elapse in the room.

 

              “Do you remember a couple weeks ago at Alisha’s house when I left because I said I felt sick?”

 

              “Mm.”

 

              “You know that wasn’t the whole truth, right?”

 

              “Mm.”

 

              “So then what do you think happened?”

 

              Sorey paused thoughtfully, taking in the new information and admittance. “You felt sick, but it was from something mental?” Sorey pondered, not having any furthered ideas as he turned towards Mikleo.

 

              “Indeed.”

 

              “So then what happened?” Sorey said quietly. There was silence, and Mikleo scooted farther away from Sorey, pulling his knees up to his chest with painful slowness as if to protect himself. Sorey watched as the careful calculating boy in front of him became small, confused and frightened.

 

              “I had a gender dysphoria attack.” Mikleo managed to choke, burying his face further into his knees and growing tenser with every gaining moment of silence.

 

              “So then you’re…?” Sorey encouraged Mikleo to continue.

 

              “Genderfluid.” Mikleo mumbled. Sorey shifted and placed a hand on Mikleo’s cheek, tugging his fine face up to look into his own.

 

              “What pronouns do you prefer then?” He said softly, unconsciously beginning to caress the shaking boy’s cheek.

 

              “Most people use male, but I don’t really care in the end. Pronouns don’t really bother me.” Mikleo mumbled, surprising Sorey when he leaned further into his hand. Sorey smiled softly at the boy, and did something that was pretty impulsive, not that most things Sorey did weren’t impulsive. Sorey reached under Mikleo’s armpits and pulled the tiny boy over his own knees and into Sorey’s chest. Mikleo squeaked as Sorey then lied down on his back, pulling Mikleo with him.

 

              “You weigh, like, nothing, you know that Princess?” Sorey’s face was covered in a happy smirk. Mikleo jerked and pushed himself off of Sorey’s chest, staring down at him with a furious blush on his face.

 

              “Y-you!” He stuttered angrily. Except he was smiling. He huffed before shamelessly plopping back down onto Sorey’s chest, causing Sorey to make an ‘oomph’ noise. Sorey smiled, wrapping his arms around the genderfluid boy’s waist, and pulling him further up his body so that his head was buried in Sorey’s shoulder.

 

              “You make a good blanket,” he smirked.

 

              “You make a good pillow.”

 

~

 

              “Where’s Mikleo?” Sorey asked, pulling out a chair and beginning to sit down in it. The cafeteria was bustling, and if it didn’t seem that this certain table had been reserved for their group, he was sure he’d never had found a place to sit.

 

              “Not sure, he hurried out at the end of class, haven’t seen him since,” Rose mumbled through a mouthful of food. Sorey froze in place, eyes widening.

 

              “Do you know where he went?”

 

              “Eh? No clue, maybe he just went to the bathroom?” Rose replied, not really paying any attention to the conversation. Sorey stood back up, and pushed the chair back in, maybe too quickly. Alisha looked at him with concern, and opened her mouth, appearing to want to say something.

 

              “I’ll be right back,” he mumbled as he paced out of the room. Edna and Lailah’s eyes trailing him all the way, only beginning to whisper to each other after he disappeared from sight.

 

~

 

              Sorey’s head spun as he paced out of the cafeteria. He stopped as he reached the bathroom, peaking inside just to make sure Mikleo hadn’t gone there. But no, of course he wasn’t. Sorey frowned, deciding Mikleo would be much more creative with his hiding places than that. He then proceeded desperately power walking through the main hall, attempting to come up with ideas. Suddenly, he stopped. He stared at the glass doors, rain was hitting them gently, leaving clean wet streaks running down the glass.

 

              _It was raining._

Sorey’s eyes widened hand he abruptly pivoted left, calling a panicked sounding “ _sorry!”_ as he accidently shouldered someone, and bursting through the door to the stairwell. As he began sprinting up the stairs more and more questions began to churn through Sorey’s mind, _if he really is having gender dysphoria, what do I do? Is it anything like an anxiety attack? How does gender dysphoria even work?_

“Dammit Sorey,” he whispered to himself. “If you have a mental breakdown not you’re not going to help at all.” Sorey finally reached the top of the stairs, panting, he opened the door, and stumbled out into the surprisingly warm air. The rain was making soft sounds on the small overhang above him, and he understood very well why Mikleo found rain so comforting.

 

              “Sorey?” Called a breathless voice from beside him. Sorey spun around to face Mikleo, relaxing somewhat when although the boy did seem out of breath, he didn’t look like he had been crying. The albino was sitting with his legs partly underneath of him and out the side like a polite lady, and Sorey chuckled gently.

 

              “Rose told me you hurried out of the classroom, I was worried you weren’t feeling good,” Sorey said softly, backing up to lean against the wall beside Mikleo.

 

              “Mm,” Mikleo hummed. “I actually wasn’t, I feel a bit better now though.” Sorey pursed his lips and slid down the wall, sitting down next to Mikleo.

 

              “Was it… Gender dysphoria, or did you really just not feel good…” Sorey said uncertainly, eyeing the boy next to him. Mikleo took his eyes off the rain, tilting his head back and shutting his eyes. Sorey found his eyes widening in awe as a warm wind blew lightly, causing Mikleo’s silver hair to float around his face.

 

              _God he’s beautiful._

Wait, what?

 

              “It was, kind of.” Mikleo peaked open one eye, using it to look at Sorey. Whether he noticed Sorey’s bright red cheeks or not he chose to ignore them, but Sorey’s heart was pounding in his chest so hard he felt like he was going to throw it up. “Sometimes…” Mikleo said quietly, eyes locking with the rain again (much to Sorey’s poor heart’s relief). “I feel the need to dress the way I feel. It can lead to gender dysphoria, I guess.” He said quietly.

 

              “What does gender dysphoria feel like?” Sorey said quietly. Mikleo adjusted his position to sit with one of his knees pulled up, and the other leg out straight.

 

              “It’s… Well, it’s different every time, and it’s different for everyone.” He said thoughtfully, Sorey frowned at the vague answer. “But if I had to describe what it was like for me…” He trailed off.

 

              “It’s like an anxiety attack, except I usually feel like I should be dressed or look differently.” He pursed his lips, creating a thin white line to match his concerned expression. “My biological gender doesn’t usually bother me, although it does sometimes, and it’s really bad when it does.” He took a deep breath, “Pronouns and how other people see my gender doesn’t bother me so much. It’s usually just how I dress, or how I look in ways I can actually control.” He finished, looking to Sorey for clues on what he thought.

 

              “Wouldn’t it be healthier for you to just look how you wanted?” Sorey said, voice boarding somewhere on confused concern. Mikleo turned away.

 

              “It’s not that simple,” he mumbled.

 

              “Then explain it to me.”

 

              Mikleo shook his head and stood, before walking a few steps forward to steps out from the awning, walking into the gentle rain. Sorey became star-struck as he watched the water begin to spill down the side of Mikleo’s face and drip down the back of his hair and neck. “We’re going to miss lunch at this rate, why don’t we go back inside?”

 

              Sorey stood, watching as the gorgeous albino turned around to face him. Sorey could now properly see the water running down his face. Is was dripping off of his beautiful white eyelashes and falling off of his bangs to create more drops spilling down his face. He pursed his lips and opened trembling violet eyes, giving Sorey a sad, sad smile.

 

              Sorey nodded and opened the door, allowing Mikleo’s drenched form to walk through it before he did. Sorey shut the door behind him, but stood standing by it as he watched the boy walk towards the stairs.

 

              “Mikleo,” he called.

 

              “Mm?”

 

              “You look beautiful in the rain.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things ae finally moving!!! Yes!!! Thank you!!! Mikleo!!!


	6. What I Can See, What You Can't

              When Mikleo walked into the cafeteria drowning in an oversized hoodie as Sorey tugged the hood over his head, Alisha felt like she had lost something. Except, she had no idea what. Her emotions were everywhere, and she didn’t even know what they meant, as if her subconscious was aware of something she wasn’t.

 

              “Oh Sorey! You found Mikleo, where was he?” Alisha said politely, and with a tinge of curiosity. Mikleo always had disappeared quite a bit, but recently it had been more often. It wasn’t uncommon for her to wonder where her friend went.

 

              “On the roof,” Sorey said simply, settling down.

 

              “What the hell were you doing on the roof?” Rose deadpanned. Mikleo pulled down the black hood, shaking his still dripping hair.

 

              “I needed fresh air,” he said without any further elaboration. Alisha was always impressed by the finality Mikleo’s tone could have, that somehow managed to crush any further questions down the drain. The first day Alisha had met Mikleo she managed to ask him a couple of basic questions, and once he had clearly had enough, he began skillfully dodging them. Ending explanations unfinished and completely batting off questions altogether.

 

              _“He won’t answer anything he doesn’t want to, it’s not worth asking him.”_ Edna had said, and her words still rang true. Alisha really did like and admire Mikleo, but she felt like she could never truly understand the strange boy. Mikleo was never rude to her, he went out of his way for her plenty, but at the same time he never got too close to her. As if the second he did, the world would be ripped out of his hands.

 

              In fact, Mikleo was like that with everyone, so she really didn’t take any offence to it. Well, everyone except Lailah and Edna.

 

              _And now Sorey, apparently._ Alisha was surprised at her own thought, starting at its harsh tone in her very own head. She watched as Mikleo and Sorey began bickering over something. Although, she felt it was slightly different from when Mikleo and Edna bickered. Rose tapped her shoulder, and Alisha turned around, startled.

 

              “Hey ‘Lisha…” Rose said, watching Sorey and Mikleo intently. “Is Sorey straight? I mean, he’s not Bi or anything right?” Alisha stared at Rose. She had never really thought of the possibility that Sorey was not straight.

 

              “I don’t believe so…” Alisha said thoughtfully. “I would like to think he would confide in my about such a thing,” She continued gently, smiling as Sorey and Mikleo’s bickering turned into a full-on debate.

 

              “If you say so,” Rose said, shrugging casually.

 

              “Why… Do you ask?” Alisha questioned her friend, knowing very well that Rose did not do most things without a real reason.

 

              “Just wonderin’. You’ll figure it out if it’s really important.” Rose continued downing her hot chocolate greedily whilst Alisha watched in mild confusion.

 

              “You don’t really pack a lot for lunch, do you?” Sorey questioned, raising an eyebrow as Mikleo picked at yogurt. Mikleo licked his lips and turned his attention back towards Sorey.

 

              “No, I don’t.” He began play with his spoon, and he pursed his lips. “It used to be because my gender dysphoria would make me feel sick sometimes,” he whispered. “Now it’s kind of just habit,” he said in a normal tone. “I usually cook a lot for dinner anyway.” He hummed thoughtfully, staring beyond the table through the wall in front of him. Sorey felt the urge to snap or clap in his face when he did that, but he didn’t really want to get kicked, so he never did.

 

              “I usually eat more lunch when I’m at home, I don’t know. Guess I just don’t eat as much when I’m around other people?” He seemed to question himself. Sorey chuckled gently in response, turning back towards his own lunch.

 

              “That reminds me!” Sorey suddenly burst out. “Gramps should be coming home tonight, you should come meet him!” He looked to Mikleo, eyes sparkling.

 

              “Ah Alisha, I bet Gramps would be happy to see you again too.” Sorey added, looking around Mikleo to stare at Alisha. Alisha smiled warmly in return.

 

              “I would love to come see him, if that isn’t any trouble.”

 

              “Of course not!” Sorey beamed blindingly. Alisha’s heart fluttered in her chest at the innocent sight, returning a sweet smile. Sorey then turned to Mikleo, who was suddenly staring at the little remains of his food with disinterest. “Are you coming, Mikleo?”

 

              “Sure,” Mikleo said, shrugging casually. But his pursed lips and irritated gaze did not escape Sorey’s eyes.

 

              “Nobody’s stopping you from going home and changing.” Edna said blandly. Mikleo very visibly flinched, and whilst no one else at the table knew why, Lailah’s expression softened knowingly and Sorey’s eyes widened in realization.

 

              Sorey was surprised though, that when Mikleo opened his mouth to speak, it was not English that poured out of his mouth. Sorey looked around the table for help, but no one else seemed to understand the sentence either. Except Edna, who replied with a “tch” and a “stubborn.” Lailah’s face split into a wide grin, it was somewhere between proud and mocking, and unusual and yet not foreign looking expression on her face.

 

              “He didn’t tell you?” Lailah questioned, Mikleo blushed. “Mikleo lived in Japan for a couple of years. He speaks fluent Japanese!”

 

              “What’d he say?” Zaveid questioned. Sorey turned to his right to look at him. Zaveid had been unusually quiet today, and his long blonde hair was especially unruly. To this day Sorey had never seen him put his hair up, or really do anything with it on that matter. Lailah’s hair was ever longer than Zaveid’s, but hers was always pulled back into a high pony tail, Sorey maybe had seen it in a braid once. It left Sorey wondering how Zaveid could stand his unruly hair constantly in his face.

 

              “Why,” Lailah said, covering her mouth with her hand mischievously. “I would think if he wanted you to know he would’ve spoken in English.”

 

              “L-Lailah!” Mikleo whined, a blush covering his cheeks. Sorey snapped out of his unimportant wondering and turned towards Mikleo. Mikleo huffed, crossing his arms and sinking back into the chair indignantly.

 

              “Is that a yes or a no to coming?” Sorey asked, still not having his answer.

 

              “I’ll come,” Mikleo said in a surprisingly quiet tone. He then shrugged and looked at the ceiling, already seeming to become lost in another world.

 

              As he tipped his head back water droplets flicked off his hair, and the change of light made it glimmer. Sorry could suddenly see the frizzy strands on his head, and the water soaked into his scalp. He smiled gently, reaching out and burying his hand in the silvery mess.

 

              Mikleo jumped and turned towards Sorey, eyes widening in question. “Your hair is still soaked. Seriously, only you,” Sorey fake pouted, dragging his fingers through Mikleo’s hair in order to fix the mess he had made. Sorey couldn’t help but feel satisfied with the burning red that seemed to be slowly taking over Mikleo’s pale face. Sorey stopped, once again burying his hand in the boy’s hair. It was impossibly silky and smooth, even with the water droplets sticking to its edges and making it increasingly unruly, creating a bit of a curly frizz that Sorey didn’t know Mikleo could have. It tickled his fingers as he pulled his hand out, briefly touching Mikleo’s hair again to smooth it out once again.

 

              Mikleo pulled away, shaking his head. If he was shaking his head to fix his hair or shaking his head in attempt to rattle his thoughts until they somehow became more organized, the world may never know. Perhaps, it was a bit of both. “Shut up,” Mikleo grumbled, pulling a hand through his own wet hair.

 

~

 

              “Sorey,” Alisha said softly, extending an umbrella to him. Mikleo had been trying to give Sorey’s hoodie back for the last thirty seconds, but Sorey being Sorey, refused to take it and instead resorted to getting wet himself.

 

              “Ah, I can’t take that!” Sorey said at Alisha’s extended umbrella, blushing slightly. Alisha did not fail to catch this, and she was unable to contain a smile from taking over her face.

 

              “If you won’t take it for yourself we can share it.” She said bluntly, not taking no for an answer as she pulled Sorey under the umbrella.

 

              Sorey and Alisha resorted to having a quiet conversation under the umbrella. Mikleo found himself becoming lonely as he wandered in the back. Perhaps, also slightly irritated that he suddenly felt like he was third wheeling.

 

              Mikleo absentmindedly found himself touching his hair under the hood. He felt his cheeks began to warm, but it his heart didn’t pound, instead he felt fond and welcome. A small smile grew on his face as he tucked a loose strand of silver behind his ear.

 

“I thought I told you not to lead people on, idiot.”

 

~

 

              “Gramps!” Sorey yelled, barreling into the small older man. The man made a loud grunt, and Alisha and Mikleo both visibly flinched, wondering if Sorey had just broken a rib on the poor thing. The old man patted Sorey on the head, wrinkled and paled fingers trembling ever so slightly as he moved them.

 

“It’s nice to see you again Zenerus!” Alisha said cheerfully, the old man pushed Sorey away, surprise evident on his face, and perhaps a bit of pleasure.

 

“Oh? Sorey you didn’t tell me we had visitors.” He mused, eyes wandering to Mikleo and moving up and down his nervous figure. “And this is…?”

 

“Mikleo!” Sorey said cheerfully. Zenerus’ eyes seemed to widen in realization, and his expression softened thoughtfully.

 

“Nice to meet you sir,” Mikleo said in a surprisingly steady and calm voice, considering he was wringing his hands until his knuckles were white behind his back. An amused look grew on Zenerus’ face, his eyes dancing with youthful light as he looked at Mikleo.

 

“Perhaps you and Alisha should learn some manners from this young Lad,” Zenerus turned towards Sorey. Alisha blushed, and so did Mikleo. Sorey just laughed guiltily and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. “Well, you kids go sit. I’ll fix dinner.”

 

“Do you need help- wah!” Mikleo exclaimed as Sorey began to drag him and Alisha, Zenerus giggled.

 

“No, although Sorey did tell me you were a good cook,” the old man’s young eyes twinkled, and Mikleo’s own eyes widened. He almost fell on his face as Sorey gave him an extra tug, stumbling forward awkwardly and ungracefully.

 

“Sorey!” He exclaimed agitatedly under his breath, stopping and allowing his face to soften when he saw the blush dusting the boy’s cheeks. Sorey let go of Alisha’s hand, and then let go of Mikleo’s more slowly. His fingers ever so unnoticeably tickling the boy’s palm as their hands slid away from one another’s.

 

Sorey plopped down on the couch, and Mikleo and Alisha followed, with much more grace.

 

“So… What do you think of the paper our English teacher is having us write?” Alisha began, starting the strings of conversations that somehow related to each other. But as time went on Sorey didn’t fail to notice how Mikleo got quieter and quieter, more and more distant. All the while Sorey grew increasingly concerned, and when Mikleo wrapped his arms around himself uncomfortably and his breathing came uneven Sorey grabbed his hand.

 

“Sorry Alisha, I’m borrowing Mikleo,” he said, interrupting Alisha’s story and dragging Mikleo to his room.

 

“What’s this about?” Mikleo grumbled as Sorey shut the door behind him. Sorey gnawed on his lower lip nervously.

 

“You looked like you were going to have an anxiety attack so I…” He trailed off, looking at Mikleo. He was giving him and exasperated look.

 

“I’m not made of glass you know, I can handle myself.” He grumbled, crossing his arms with a cocked white eyebrow.

 

“I-I know I just…” He pursed his lips, sighing. “You looked uncomfortable. If you don’t want to be here you’re welcome to go home, I can drive you if you like-“

 

“I’m not like you.”

 

Sorey flinched, “Wha-“

 

Mikleo took three huge steps and moved right in front of Sorey, his shoulders straight. Sorey suddenly remembered how Mikleo had once reminded him of a bird observing potential prey, but never choosing to actually kill, and instead enjoy their unawareness mockingly. He tilted his head to the side, his eyes seemed to have light lilac rims, creating a threatening sharp presence to them. “I’m stubborn. Incredibly stubborn. Everyone who meets me knows that.” Sorey furrowed eyes eyebrows in confusion. “But, I’m not like you.” His voice softened and he straightened, a small smile gracing his lips as he looked up to Sorey, suddenly reminding Sorey that he was much shorter than himself. “I don’t like asking for help, I never well. But even I know my limits Sorey, I’ll ask for help when I need it.” It was like a reassurance, and suddenly the tables had turned, if they were ever the other way, to Mikleo comforting Sorey.

 

Sorey crinkled his brow, “But you-“

 

“I told you I was genderfluid because I wanted you to know. Not, because I was begging for help. Don’t treat me any differently, I’m still the same person.” Sorey opened his mouth in shock, closed it, and then let his face pinch into a pained expression. He took a breath, looking up at the ceiling before daring to meet eyes with Mikleo again.

 

“Okay.”

 

Mikleo’s eyes seemed to widen and dance with surprise, as if that wasn’t at all how he had been expecting Sorey to reply. Mikleo smiled, shutting his eyes and tilting his head to the side with pleasure. Sorey found himself mesmerized by the genuine sight. “Thank you.”

 

“You’re welcome,” Sorey said, beaming at him in return. “So, do you want to go home or not?” Sorey’s eyes twinkled, and Mikleo blushed and scuffed his foot on the carpet.

 

“That would be rude.”

 

Sorey frowned and grabbed Mikleo’s hands. Mikleo gasped and looked up, only to be met by fierce green eyes only an inch away from his face. He suddenly found himself unable to breath, lost in the intensity of his eyes and tingling with the boy’s breath on his lips. “It wouldn’t be, gramps would understand that if you were leaving it would be important, and Alisha wouldn’t mind.” Mikleo stayed silent, suddenly finding himself unable to meet with Sorey’s eyes. Sorey squeezed Mikleo’s hands and then dropped them, watching the amethyst eyes, which now reminded him more of a doe than a clever and fierce predator, turned back towards him.

 

“Alrighty then, I’m driving!” He beamed, Mikleo’s face paled as he begun his protests, only to be grabbed by the wrist and dragged out of Sorey’s bedroom.

 

“Gramps I’m taking Mikleo home he has something to do bye!” Sorey said quickly, just barely keeping his words from slurring together.

 

“Sorry!” Mikleo attempted to call, himself having extreme Déjà vu from when a certain dirty blonde dragged him out of Alisah’s home. As Sorey let go of Mikleo’s wrist and dropped back his pace, Mikleo grumbled.

 

“You’re awful at making up excuses.”

 

Sorey laughed nervously, “Well, It’s not like a expect them to believe it.”

 

~

 

Sorey dared to glance at Mikleo.

 

They had been driving for about ten minutes now. The roads were quiet, and the sun was setting and making the sky beautifully multicolored. Meanwhile, Sorey kept hearing Mikleo shift in his seat. Sorey studied the boy, watching his increasingly uneven breathing, which was now less uneven, and more desperate for air. He was pulling at the neck of his shirt as if it was chocking him, when in reality it was only a loose T-Shirt, and did not restrict him in any way.

 

Physically, at least.

 

Sorey grabbed the hand that Mikleo was using to tug at his shirt, pulling it to the center console along with his while he turned his eyes back to the road. Sorey could feel Mikleo’s stare, hear the pause in his shaking breaths,  followed by a pitiful whimper as he shifted, laying his head on the center console. Sorey began to stroke Mikleo’s knuckles, deciding that words would do nothing to make the pounding pulse in Mikleo’s wrist slow, knowing very well what an anxiety attack felt like. Mikleo tugged on Sorey’s hand, pulling it closer to himself and once again shifting uncomfortably as sharp pains rippled to his gut, slowly making his way to his heart.

 

“This?” Sorey asked gently. Mikleo pulled himself up, still not letting go of Sorey’s hand as he looked at the road.

 

“Yeah, the stone one,” he responded with a surprisingly steady voice, even though Sorey could now catch his trembling chest out of the corner of his eye.

 

“It’s big,” Sorey said, raising an eyebrow as he turned in. Mikleo sat up all the way, foot tapping on the floor of the car expectantly.

 

“Mm, Edna and Eizen’s parents left it to them. Eizen’s a lawyer, so he can pay the taxes.” His sentence was rushed, and Sorey guessed if this was a more casual moment Mikleo would’ve elaborated a bit more.

 

The second the car came to a full stop Sorey let go of Mikleo’s hand, allowing him to unbuckle the seatbelt (with impressive amounts of coordination for his trembling hands) and open the car door. Sorey followed, falling into place beside Mikleo.

 

When they reached the front door it simply opened, apparently unlocked. Sorey slipped inside out of pure curiosity, catching Edna walking in from the kitchen, which was adjoined openly with the living room.

 

“I’m changing I’m fine thank you,” Mikleo said hurriedly as he pushed himself into a full on sprint, flying up the stairs as Sorey wondered for the nth time how someone could have even an ounce of grace in his situation. Sorey then turned to Edna, suddenly getting the impression that this had happened many times before.

 

“How’d it go?” Edna asked casually.

 

“Well, I practically… No, I literally had to drag him out the door to make him come home.” Edna snorted amusedly.

 

“It’s okay, Eizen always makes a big dinner anyway, no matter how many people are supposed to be eating at the table.” She mused. Sorey looked towards the stairs Mikleo had flew up curiously. “He’s probably done changing if you want to go see him. Last door on the right.”

 

Sorey raised his eyebrows, “Done changing? It’s literally been like a minute-“ Edna raised an eyebrow, and Sorey took a moment to recall the fashion Mikleo had ran up the stairs in.

 

“Got it. I’ll go.” Sorey said, turning right and rushing up the stairs himself. Sorey walked into a hall, stopping at the third and final door. It was left open, and Sorey knocked on the doorway as he slid in.

 

“Mikleo?” He called, briefly taking note of Mikleo’s clothes which were now discarded on the floor.

 

“In here,” Mikleo called from somewhere unknown. Soret walked further into the room. It was neat, and it was big. There were two bookshelves, all which looked much, much neater than Sorey’s. There was a bed in the corner, it wasn’t huge, but it was big enough to easily fit two people. Sorey pried his eyes away from the room, wandering into the back of it to see what looked like a dead end to a short hallway, but instead he discovered an open door to his left. He turned around and slipped in, noticing the light was on.

 

He entered a bathroom. A good sized one, not ginormous. Sorey turned around to his right to stare at Mikleo, who was perched upon the double sink. He was kicking his feet contently. Sorey walked further into the room, quickly, to face Mikleo.

 

He barely kept his mouth from dropping to the floor. What Mikleo was wearing was clearly very casual, probably something you would only ever wear lounging around at home, but _god he looked good._ He was wearing gray, white and black speckled sweatpants, they were loose but not traditionally masculine looking. His feet were bare, and while this wasn’t the first time Sorey had seen Mikleo’s bare feet, it was the first time he really came to realize how small they were. He could see boney defined ankles peeking out of his pants.

 

Sorey let his eyes travel up Mikleo, stopping when they reached his bare stomach. His eyes widened. Taking in the loose sweatshirt crop top that seemed to have a habit of falling off one shoulder, showing off Mikleo’s defined collarbone and elegant neck.

 

“What’re you looking at?” Sorey flinched, eyes snapping up to Mikleo’s face. Mikleo was wearing a smirk, and he had paused what appeared to have been painting his nails. Sorey found his face getting hot as his skin darkened to crimson.

 

“S-sorry!” Sorey squeaked. Mikleo laughed gently, smiling fondly at Sorey before putting the nail polish brush back into its container, and sliding off the sink. He turned around, cocking a hip teasingly at Sorey and _oh my god_ , Sorey thought. _I am so dead._

 

“What do you think?” Mikleo asked, turning his head and then his entire body to face Sorey, his slim waist twisting mockingly.

 

“Y-you…” Sorey mumbled, feeling his face redden further. “Look good…”

 

Mikleo smirked, walking up to Sorey. He locked his hands behind his back and leaned forward towards him, pouting. “What? I couldn’t hear you?”

 

“M-Mikleo stop teasing me!” Sorey spluttered indignantly. Mikleo stepped back, smiling gently before laughing, even whilst he was covering his mouth with the back of his hand unable to hide his smile.

 

“Sor~ry.” He sang. Sorey huffed gently, smiling at the sight of the boy being comfortable in his own skin for once.

 

“I should go, Gramps and Alisha will get irritated with me otherwise.” Sorey said softly. Mikleo nodded, turning to face away from the door as Sorey moved to leave.

 

“Sorey,” Mikleo called quietly, causing Sorey to stop in the doorway.

 

“Yes?” He said gently, turning around to face the boy who was now standing with his arms wrapped around his own bare waist.

 

“Do I really look good?” He said quietly.

 

Sorey smiled gently. He crossed back over to Mikleo, and slid his arms underneath Mikleo’s own, wrapping them around Mikleo’s waist. He felt Mikleo suck in with surprise, but Sorey only pulled Mikleo closer to himself.

 

Sorey pressed his lips against Mikleo’s hair, feeling Mikleo absolutely freeze beneath him. Sorey lingered a moment before he took his lips away from Mikleo’s hair, moving them down to his ear.

 

“Gorgeous, Princess.” He whispered gently.

 

He slid his arms out from under Mikleo’s frozen ones, watching them flop back down to his sides as he released the boy’s waist. He turned around, hurrying out of the bathroom.

 

He missed Mikleo’s silent tears as the boy rubbed the top of his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the lovely comments last chapter!
> 
> There's a possibility there are lots errors in this, I don't have a beta, incase you couldn't tell. I went over it three times so I think I caught the big ones but it's always possible I missed some.


	7. Darkness and Light

              When Sorey walked back into the house, he had been gone for nearly an hour. Alisha got up from the couch, quickly walking up to him.

 

              “Is Mikleo alright?” She said quietly, trying to decipher the look on Sorey’s face. It wasn’t upset, nor particularly gleeful, simply thoughtful. It was an odd look on the open book’s face.

 

              “Yes, I think he’s alright,” Sorey said quietly. Alisha twitched, knowing that there was more to the story than that. She paused, looking past the living room, her eyes finding where the living room was located out of habit, with the thought of Zenerus.

 

              “Sorey…” She said quietly, playing with her hands. “You… Edna and Lailah know something about Mikleo, don’t you?” She looked up shyly, giving him a guilty smile, her green eyes squinted with hurt for reasons beyond her previous sentence, and Sorey’s understanding.

 

              Sorey stood, and thought. Knowing very well he was a horrible liar. “I guess… Sort of?” He said, scratching the back of his neck, giving Alisha a weak smile. He shook his head and looked away, eyes not locking on anything in particular, out of focus in thought. “It’s nothing you need to know though,” he smiled gently, unconsciously defeating any and all questions that could roll off of Alisha’s tongue.

__

             “I-I see…” Alisha said, putting a finger on her lips and appearing to be in thought. “Mikleo is not required to tell me anything… Although, I do wish he had a bit more trust in me.”

 

              Sorey’s eyes flew wider, and he began shaking his hands in front of his face desperately, “I-It’s not that he doesn’t trust you! That’s just how-“

__

“I know,” Alisha giggled gently. “That’s just how Mikleo is, right?” She smiled genuinely up at Sorey, and Sorey relaxed, smiling back.

 

Alisha suddenly clapped, smiling up at Sorey excitedly, “W-why don’t we eat dinner? It’s going to get cold!” She said gleefully. Guilty she was for the feeling, but some part of her felt oddly glad that Mikleo was no longer here.

 

She felt like she could win something, even if what she did not know.

~

**Meanwhile, at Mikleo’s Home**

Mikleo tread down the stairs lightly, only half consciously rubbing the back of his head. As he reached the bottom he stopped, forcing himself to take his watery violet eyes off of the floor to lock eyes with his sisterly figure. He straightened, taking his hand off of his head and looking into her eyes. She crossed her arms and cocked her hip in reply, raising an eyebrow.

 

Mikleo paced over to her, grabbed bother of her hands and stared at her in the face, “Edna.” He said, “Help me.”

 

“Don’t ask an aromantic for relationship advice.”

 

“God, _dammit Edna_.”

 

~

 

              Both Sorey and Mikleo were expecting the other to be awkward when they found each other at the gate at school the next day.

 

              They weren’t.

 

              They had both subconsciously managed to find each other in the throng of students attempting to enter the school. When their eyes had locked, realizing what they had done, they both simply gave one another an adoring smile. Nothing had changed, their relationship had only grown stronger, more meaningful. And whilst, it still wasn’t perfect, they were starting to understand where one another’s boundaries begun and ended.

 

              As usual per usual, Mikleo turned around, sliding around people and people seeming to move out of his wake like he was a god or an angel, whilst Sorey attempted to follow his path in hopes that it would stay clear long enough for him to slide through it too. Usually it didn’t, but for some reason today it seemed to be ever so slightly wider for him.

 

              Classes flew by, only seeming to slow down slightly in World History, where Mikleo and Sorey were together and things were actually interesting. Today History was the last class before lunch, which Sorey loved because it meant he got to walk to the cafeteria with Mikleo. Both of them were taking their time getting to the cafeteria, neither of them seeming in a particular hurry to get anywhere today.

 

              “Sorey,” Mikleo said, out of the blue. Sorey turned towards Mikleo, tilting his head and letting his strangely layered hair shift.

 

              “Yeah?”

 

              “Did… Lailah or Edna ever tell you that my hair used to be long?” He was twirling a longer strand of hair over his finger, and a slight pink blush dusted his cursed pale cheeks.

 

              “No way!” Sorey chuckled. “Really?”

 

              “Really.” Mikleo replied plainly, he looked up, his white hair catching the artificial light. He smiled a bit, “It was really wavy and frizzy when it was long too. Lailah used to love to play with it.”

 

              “You know, I can kinda picture it,” Sorey deadpanned. Mikleo blushed again, locking eyes with Sorey.

 

              “I was… Thinking of growing it out again…” He grumbled. Sorey’s eyes lit up, a childish smile suddenly covering his face.

 

              “Really?! That would be so cool!” Mikleo flinched, looking bewildered.

 

              “D-don’t get too excited! It’ll take a really long time to get to as long as it was before.” Mikleo began playing with his own fingers nervously.

 

              Sorey laughed, “That’s okay, I’ll wait. Plus, it’ll be kind of cool to watch it grow.” He gave Mikleo a gentle smile, and Mikleo smiled back, awkward bashfulness fading from his expression.

 

~

 

              “You know ‘Lisha,” Rose said, munching on some sweet Sorey couldn’t name. “I was thinkin’, it’s been a long time since we went over to someone else’s house but yours, why don’t we change it up today?” The redhead looked up and swallowed, curious eyes lingering on Alisha. Alisha made a noise of thought, and put a finger over her lips.

 

              “I suppose you’re right,” Alisha replied. She looked up to the table, “Anyone volunteer?”

 

              “You could come over to our house,” Enda pipped up. Mikleo made a noise of surprise and blinked up at Edna. He did not look particularly displeased, he did not look ecstatic about it either. “Eizen is on a business trip anyway, it’s going to be quiet.”

 

              Mikleo softened, seeming to understand. He leaned back into his chair, “Just so you know, I am not making a huge dinner for… six people?” He said, looking around the table. “But other than that, I don’t care.”

 

              “Not that you have any say in the matter anyway.”

 

              Mikleo glared at Edna, but did not counter, seeming to accept his fate (for now).

 

              “Mickey-boy, are you a good cook? If Eizen taught you, you gotta be.” Zaveid called, tilting back his chair so it rocked on only it’s back legs as he looked at Mikleo. Mikleo, looked up, catching Zaveid’s eyes with his own.

 

              “I’m not quite as good as Eizen. But yeah, Edna approves of my cooking, and that’s a pretty big compliment.”

 

              Zaveid let out a low whistle, “Damn right it is.” Edna shot both of them glares that could make Antarctica catch fire. Zaveid visibly flinched, as if she had burned his skin, Mikleo skillfully ignored her.

 

“I’ve never been to Mikleo’s house…” Alisha trailed off, a fond smile on her face as she looked at her albino friend.

 

“I guess not huh?” Mikleo said, tapping a finger on his lips and looking forward. He then dropped his hand, turning his sweet lilac eyes towards Alisha and giving her a soft, apologetic smile. “Sorry, I guess I just never thought about it…” He hummed, eyes once again un-focusing as he began to think.

 

Alisha laughed lightly, “That’s alright! I’m seeing it now, that’s what matters.” A light blush dusted Mikleo’s cheeks and he smiled at her gently, nodding in agreement.

 

~

 

The all ended up in Mikleo and Edna’s basement. It was nothing grand, it was a pretty average basement with a couple couches and chairs scattered throughout it, and a medium sized TV on the back wall. There was a giant empty pizza box sitting on the table in the middle of the room, contents having all been consumed before the movie had even started.

 

“Oi!” Rose called, everyone turned (except for Zaveid, who was digging through the box of old CDs). “Where’s my seat?” She asked, putting her hands on her hips.

 

“I can move,” Lailah said softly, and then clapped her hands together. “Oh!” She said, “And I saved you pizza.” She held out the pizza to Rose, who sprinted across the room to grab it.

 

“See? Someone here is thoughtful!” She called. Everyone in the room conveniently chose to ignore her, Edna only getting up to tell Zaveid to _“hurry up and fucking pick something”._

 

Rose sighed, her short red hair bouncing gently as she moved her head. Lailah moved to get up, but Rose stopped the movement by sitting down on top of her. Bravely making herself comfortable by burying herself into Lailah’s lap.

 

“Oh my!” Lailah said, but she only giggled, and gave the redhead a fond smile. Mikleo rolled his eyes and smiled from next to Sorey, the only one in the room who seemed to be perceptive enough to catch Rose’s dusty-pink cheeks as she tilted her head away from Lailah.

 

There was a yelp, and everyone turned to see Edna grabbing a CD from Zaveids hands, and shoving it in its slot aggressively.

 

“What’d you choose?” Mikleo questioned, shifting from beside Sorey on the faded green couch him, Mikleo, and Alisha were all sitting on together. Mikleo tucked his legs underneath him, and then moved his feet out from under himself, so that he was sitting halfway on top of himself and halfway not. It reminded Sorey of a stereotypical lady in a dress.

 

“Spirited Away. Can’t fucking go wrong with that.”

 

“Ah, true.” Mikleo seemed to be the only other one in the room who knew what the movie was. She moved to take her place on the floor, sitting underneath of Mikleo and leaning her back up against the couch. Only of course, after stealing every single loose pillow in the room and stacking them up underneath and around her. Granted, Eizen, Mikleo and Edna always seemed to have a habit of accumulating pillows and them somehow ending up in the basement. So this was a lot of pillows.

 

Zaveid grumbled, taking back his spot on a giant beanbag and allowing the moving to play.

 

Edna, fell asleep about five minutes in. Collapsing on her throne of pillows. When Sorey looked at Mikleo questioningly, he had simply replied, “She’s watched this a thousand times. So have I, and Eizen at that. Not really all that surprised that she doesn’t feel the need to watch through every single scene,” and shrugged.

 

Zaveid, watched through the entire movie with hilarious adamancy, refusing to focus on anything else. Rose narrated the entire movie from Lailah’s lap. Mikleo kicked Edna at parts he seemed to know she would want to watch, and woke her up. Well, he did until he fell asleep.

 

Sorey had noticed since the moment they got there that Mikleo was tired. He spaced out more than usual, his usually bright, calculating eyes continuing to unfocus in the middle of conversations. Halfway through the movie his eyes would occasionally flutter closed, his white eyelashes creating dark shadows across his pale face in the odd lighting.

 

At one of these moments, Sorey had casually poked the side of his head, the side opposite from himself, and Mikleo had crumpled on top of his shoulder. Sorey was barely able to contain from bursting out laughing, and Alisha looked rather amused (and slightly perplexed) herself from her spot beside him. Mikleo’s only protest was pinching Sorey in the stomach, which mind you, actually did hurt, before he drifted off into sleep pressed into Sorey’s side.

 

During one of Alisha’s observations about the movie, near the very end, she was whispering in Sorey’s ear when Sorey felt the weight on his shoulder begin to slide, and suddenly gravity decided to make Mikleo fall into his lap, startling Sorey. At this point Mikleo had taken up most of the right side of the couch (not that Sorey minded) and his legs were splayed across it, and now, his head was even in Sorey’s lap.

 

But Sorey only gave it a glance, using the opportunity to bury his hand in the boy’s soft silver hair, as if he was a cat that would curl up in your lap. He then turned back to Alisha, and asked her to continue her conversation, occasionally absentmindedly caressing the albino’s cheek whilst listening to her, and watching the movie.

 

“Awe shit,” Edna said. “I missed the fucking end, good job Mikleo.” She pinched Mikleo’s cheek, waking him up effectively. Mikleo groaned, and it took everything and Sorey’s being not to burst out laughing because it was _so adorable._ Especially, when he could feel the groan as much as he could hear it. Mikleo pulled himself up, planting a hand inbetween Sorey’s legs to do so. He rubbed at his eyes sleepily, finally responding to Edna.

 

“Whahsfs?” Was all he managed. Edna scowled and simply located her umbrella (which was never far from her) and wacked him on the head, creating a yelp from Mikleo’s throat.

 

“Edna!” He whined, rubbing his head sleepily and making his hair stick up more than it already was. Sorey chuckled, earning himself an (adorable) glare.

 

"Okay, thank you all for coming, Edna wants to go sleep now please leave.” Edna deadpanned gratefully, somehow already trudging tiredly up the stairs, even though she was sitting in front of Mikleo just a second ago.

 

“Edna is not a night owl,” Mikleo deadpanned.

 

“I take it you aren’t either?” Sorey asked, raising an eyebrow. Mikleo leaned back against the couch, seeming far more awake now.

 

“Mm…  I actually kind of just don’t sleep, honestly.” He glanced over at Sorey, as always surprised when the boy had a face of mild concern. Mikleo turned away, an ever so light blush dusting over his cheeks. “I guess I’m more of a morning person though. Pretty much can’t sleep past six.”

 

“And is Edna also a morning person?” Alisha asks Mikleo innocently from the other side of Sorey, leaning forward to look at her friend.

 

“Hell no. You think she’s grumpy now? You should see her in the mornings. It would make the most content person on Earth want to jump off a cliff.”

 

“I heard that you motherfucker!” Edna called from somewhere upstairs. Mikleo flinched, muscles tensing. Sorey and Alisha’s eyes widened, wondering how it was humanly possible to actually hear that.

 

“Her mouth gets even fouler when she’s tired,” he grumbled quietly, pushing himself off of the couch to stand. He stretched, raising his arms over his head gracefully and arching his back, causing his shirt to pull up his stomach and gracing Sorey with the vision of even just a bit of his skin. Mikleo cocked a hip as he stretched, continuing on as if he wasn’t absolutely killing Sorey. “But really, you guys should probably go home. It’s getting late, you guys don’t want to drive when it’s pitch black.” Mikleo’s arms floated gracefully back down to his sides, and he adjusted his crinkled shirt absentmindedly.

 

“Mhm,” Zaveid seemed to agree, standing up. Slowly everyone followed, standing up and leaving.

 

“Mikleo,” Sorey called. Mikleo turned around from where he was leaning, cleaning up the messy pile of DVDs (Sorey had already made an effort to help five times, all had failed).

 

“Yes?” He called back, fluttering his white lashes and tilting his head to the side gracefully. Sorey’s heart briefly jumped into his chest, he forced it back down.

 

“You… Can call me, if you ever can’t sleep.” Sorey scuffed his foot on the step, and Mikleo stared at him for an entire ten seconds before smiling gently.

 

“I’ll remember that, thank you.”

 

~

 

All the lights were out in Edna’s room. It was one AM. The blinds were opened, Edna had always refused to close them. She didn’t like feeling trapped. Mikleo never closed his blinds either, but that’s because Mikleo always loved the moon. He loved the moon like he loved rain, and he loved the stars, and the night sky like he loved thunderstorms.

 

Mikleo, also loved the sun. But that was different, the sun was different.

 

So when Edna’s door silently opened at one AM for the first time in just a little over a year (not that she had been counting) she felt oddly at home. She only patted the side of the bed, not needing to look at the gorgeous albino bathing in the darkness of her doorway. Mikleo rushed forward the second she touched the space beside her, crawling out of the shadows and into the light shining from the moon in her window. His hair looked blue in the light and his skin looked even paler than usual. Edna had always known that her brother was beautiful, even a blind man would know such a thing. It was why Edna so desperately wondered why he couldn’t be comfortable in his own skin _why he despised himself._

Edna didn’t understand, she would never understand, she was not Mikleo. But Edna also, understood that.

 

Mikleo crawled under the covers, wrapping his arms around Edna’s waist. Edna flopped down from her sitting position, crawling overtop of Mikleo to put her phone down. He made a faint whine, but otherwise did not protest.

 

Edna finally laid down beside Mikleo, allowing him to pull her close. Honestly, Edna missed this. Neither Edna nor Mikleo could ever sleep without another human. Edna, being so used to sleeping with Eizen from the time he was little. Mikleo, plagued with nightmares and general insomnia. What Edna missed most of all is when Eizen was home, always home. And Edna would drag a sad, confused, empty and innocent Mikleo over to Eizen’s giant bed, and they would all cuddle.

 

Mikleo’s arms tightened around Edna, as if knowing what she was thinking. Maybe it was because it was one AM and Edna hadn’t slept properly in over a year, and it was finally getting to her, but she decided to voice her greatest insecurity aloud.

 

“Hey Meebo.”

 

“What?”

 

“When you fall in love someday, don’t ditch your sister,” she pinched Mikleo’s ear, causing him to flinch. Despite her casual tone to anyone else’s ears, Mikleo could hear the emotional backdrop.

 

“I won’t,” he mumbled quietly, pulling Edna further up his body and burying his nose into her dirty blonde bedhead. “I promise.”


	8. When Past is Blurred with Present

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I probably didn't read this over as many times as I needed to so if there are typos myyy baddd
> 
> How have a survived with no beta oml
> 
> Also this fic has 71 pages. Dear lord I'm only on chapter 8 ;-;

It was nearing Christmas and there wasn’t a single person in school who wasn’t absolutely drowning in schoolwork. Not one. In fact, the only people in the group who didn’t seem behind were Alisha and Mikleo, who were extremely diligent and didn’t seem to have the word “procrastination” in the vocabulary. In fact, they were so far ahead of some of the other’s they had started ditching the group sessions and started just doing study sessions by themselves, and had ended up _ahead._

That didn’t mean they still weren’t drowning, though.

 

It was quiet. Mikleo was sitting in Alisha’s bedroom. Mikleo was doing History, Alisha was doing Algebra, both something neither needed to ask the other for help with. So that’s why Mikleo was surprised when Alisha spoke.

 

“Mikleo…” Mikleo looked up from his papers to stare at Alisha. Her ever moving pencil had paused. Mikleo waited for her to finish her sentence patiently, and Alisha finally put the pencil down, adjusting her position. “You… Know I like Sorey, right? Rose said it’s still pretty obvious.” Alisha laughed nervously, Mikleo tensed. He didn’t want to talk about this.

 

“Yeah, I knew since the second you two made eye contact,” he teased. Alisha blushed, tucking a loose strand of curly blonde hair behind her ear.

 

“I’m that bad huh,” she said looking down and pouting. Mikleo snickered, and Alisha looked back up and giggled softly, allowing them to have a quiet moment to simply laugh. Slowly though the giggles faded, and Alisha turned to face forward. “You’re Sorey’s best friend right? Do you think he likes me back?”  


_No._

“I don’t know,” Mikleo shrugged, desperately wanting to drop this topic.

 

“Mm…” She hummed. She began to fiddle nervously, and although Mikleo loved Alisha, with the topic they were on it was making him kind of irritated. “C-could you… I don’t know…”

 

“What?” Mikleo said, successfully not making his voice sound snappy.

 

“P-put in a good word for me?” Alisha said, before immediately spontaneously combusting. She jerked to face towards Mikleo, waving her hands in front of his face, “I-I mean, you don’t have to! I just figured you’re kind of good at that stuff and you’re really good friends with him and you could make it sound normal and…”

 

“Alisha!” He said, grabbing her hands. She flinched, he smiled gently, “Its fine. I’ll see what I can do, okay?” Mikleo really wanted to bang his head on something, or run, or stop having to watch Alisha’s crush grow bigger, and bigger every day.

 

It hurt.

 

“Really?!” Alisha squeaked, before tackling Mikleo down to the ground. Mikleo yelped, giggling as he hit the floor. He stared up at the ceiling as she lay on top of him, profusely thanking him and wiggling all over him.

 

_How can I fix this?_ He thought, _how can I make Alisha, me and Sorey happy?_

He flinched.

 

Because he knew he couldn’t.

 

~

 

              It was one in the morning.

 

              So why was Mikleo putting on boots and a jacket? To break in (okay, use the “secret” key) to Sorey’s house.

 

              And make him breakfast, like the nice person Mikleo was.

 

              Surprisingly enough, in the past couple of months this had become a fairly common thing. Usually not as early as one in the morning. But Mikleo often showed up to Sorey’s house as early as five or six, got the ingredients out he needed to make whatever he was making that morning, and then read until Sorey woke up, or he could hear Sorey getting out of bed (so he could have his breakfast warm, of course).

 

              The only thing that severely worried Mikleo was the fact that Sorey _never heard him enter._ Mikleo prayed that I robber didn’t even come into his house, or else the poor thing would die, or be robbed of everything he owned without even batting an eye.

 

              So here Mikleo was, walking through dusting snow in the dead of night. The moon was bright, and the snow kept resting in Mikleo’s white hair. The streets were dead, the sidewalks were empty. The lights were dark, and there was nothing but Mikleo, the dusty snow and the moon.

 

              Mikleo loved snow almost as much as he loved rain. He did not appreciate the cold that generally came with it. But oddly enough, at one in the morning when the sun could not even shine to warm him, he felt oddly cozy.

 

              Mikleo arrived at Sorey’s door, not even bothering to call out or knock, or give any sort of warning and instead simply sliding in. He was surprised though to find that a light was on. Just a lamp light, and sitting beneath it was a boy, laying down and buried in a book, with shining light brown hair.

 

              “Why are you awake?” Sorey nearly jumped out of his skin, turning to see Mikleo standing in front of the now closed door with his arms crossed across his chest, looking unamused. Mikleo sighed and walked closer to him, reaching him he leaned forward toward Sorey, cocking his head and resting his hands on his hips. An irritated expression rested on his face, but all Sorey could do was stare at the snow sparkling softly in his hair.

 

              “You have snow in your hair,” he said softly, touching Mikleo’s hair gently, careful not to make the surviving unmelted flakes fall out. Mikleo blushed softly, and Sorey began to twirl a longer strand of Mikleo’s hair around his finger. Some of the boy’s hair was just barely at his chin, and Sorey was already starting to see that it indeed did get curlier when he let it grow.

 

              “And also, it’s not a school night. And I could ask you the same thing.” He flicked Mikleo’s forehead, making the boy squeak. He frowned, and stripped off his jacket, walking back toward the door to put it on the rack, simultaneously kicking off his boots.

 

              “I couldn’t sleep, and you told me I could show up at your house whenever I wanted, which I took very literally.”

 

              Sorey snickered as Mikleo walked back towards him, sitting against the couch beneath him. There were a few moments of comfortable silence, and Sorey went back to reading his book under the warm lamplight.

 

              “Alisha and I had a study session this evening.”

 

              Sorey made a humming noise, politely closing his book to listen, simply marking his spot with his own finger. Mikleo continued, “She asked me to put a word in about her to you, so there you go.” Sorey giggled, grabbing a random piece of paper that happened to be laying on the lamp table and shoving it in his book.

 

              “You sound jealous,” he teased gently. There was silence, and Sorey raised an eyebrow. “Don’t tell me you’re actually jealous Mikleo.”

 

              “I’m not _jealous_ , it’s just getting kind of old.” He huffed Sorey sighed, but understood. Sorey shifted from the laying position on his couch, scooping Mikleo up from under his arm pits. Mikleo squeaked, and flailed but Sorey ignored it, pulling the far too light boy on top of him, and then pulling him down so that their stomachs were resting against each other.

 

              “And I wouldn’t mind it nearly as much if she didn’t talk to me about it. I love Alisha, you know that. And I feel like I’m lying to her when I keep… I don’t know, ignoring whatever we have,” he mumbled out the last sentence softly, so that Sorey had to take a moment to piece the garbled words together.

 

              Sorey giggled softly, Mikleo pinched him. Mikleo found himself pulling himself farther up Sorey’s body, so that his ear was pressed against the larger boy’s heart. It was pounding steadily, confidently, not ever missing a beat.

 

              Mikleo loved it.

 

              He never wanted it to end.

 

              He never wanted to see the day Sorey could no longer wrap his arms around him. The arms the he was slowly, slowly, falling deathly in love with. The arms that were slowly making him belong, slowly making him for confident, making Mikleo quip, make snide remarks and even sometimes make fun of his own confusing sexuality. Only to Sorey, of course.

 

              He wanted to stay.

 

              He wanted to love him harder.

 

              He wanted to give him more.

 

              Neither of them ever spoke aloud of their odd relationship. So intimate one could call them lovers. So stable one could call them friends. Neither of them ever made huge moves, and therefore no one around them seemed to notice the slow change in the relationships dynamic but Edna, Lailah and Sorey and Mikleo themselves. Neither of them felt the dying need to slap a label on it. They didn’t want to change anything, they just wanted to steadily, steadily grow closer.

 

              Those around them could hurry up and figure it out on their own.

 

In fact, Rose probably already had. Maybe even a long time ago.

 

"You know, Alisha and Zaveid are really oblivious.”

 

“Yes Sorey, yes they are... But so are you…” Mikleo mumbled, turning his head the other way on Sorey’s chest, attempting to nuzzle himself closer to Sorey than he already was. Sorey’s warm body heat was making his eyes begin to droop, reminding him that he hadn’t slept properly since the one night he slept with Edna, and sleep is necessary for human beings.

 

“You’re exhausted.” Sorey said, it was a fact, not a question. Sorey was smart enough to know by now that if you even left a slight backdrop of question in you tone, Mikleo would take advantage of it and go into full blown denial mode. Once that started, there was no convincing him otherwise. Mikleo was the most stubborn person Sorey had ever met.

 

Mikleo responded with something between a huff and a whine and whatever it was, it was the most pitiful sound Sorey had ever heard. “Go to sleep,” he murmured, reaching behind his head for his head for his book with one hand, and beginning to rub circles in Mikleo’s back with the other. Mikleo responded by closing a hand around Sorey’s shirt and shifting his position, nuzzling his nose into Sorey’s chest before sighing contently.

 

It was nice. It was really nice to watch as Mikleo’s breathing slowly evened out, as his hand’s grip on Sorey’s shirt slowly becoming lose. It was sweet, it was simple. Sorey cherished moments like this, mostly because some of their most intimate experiences involved Sorey having an anxiety attack, or Mikleo having a mental breakdown. So it was so nice, when everything was peaceful

 

Even when things weren’t peaceful, it was still so nice.

 

Sorey picked back up his book, continuing to stroke Mikleo’s back rhythmically. Sorey was blessed with the talent of being able to easily turn pages in a book with one hand, only after many years of suffering and practice, and it was now coming to its best use yet.

 

The peace only lasted for about thirty more minutes.

 

There was a long whine. Sorey flinched, pulling himself out of his book induced trance to stare at Mikleo. At some point he had gone taught, peaceful sleeping face gone. He was gripping on tightly to Sorey’s shirt again. Sorey moved his hand up to Mikleo’s shoulders, only to find they were beginning to shake.

 

Sorey furrowed his eyebrows, giving Mikleo a little shake. “Mikleo, Mikleo are you alright?” Only a whimper came in response. Suddenly Mikleo’s breath caught, and Sorey could feel it becoming more and more raged being pressed so close to him. Mikleo’s legs shifted uncomfortably, and released a desperate whine from his lips.

 

“Mikleo!” Sorey called, shaking him harder this time. _“Mikleo please wake up.”_ Mikleo’s breath suddenly hitched completely, his heart pounded faster than what one would think was humanly possible, and then, he jerked up.

 

Mikleo’s heart was pounding, his chest felt like it was burning with the fire he once breathed and his skin felt like it was melting. He automatically reached for the covered scar on his shoulder, where his skin was the hottest. Mikleo planted a hand in the crevice in the couch, desperately trying to concentrate on anything but his burning skin, but his breath, but the screams that wrung in his ears that always ended in deadly silence.

 

“Mikleo!” He flinched at the sudden contact on his cheeks, looking down at the boy bellow him. Mikleo was straddling Sorey, and Sorey was looking up at Mikleo with the most desperate expression.  Mikleo was looking down at him with a similar one, but his was not soft, not worried, instead laced with fear, fear and pain, fear and guilt.

 

Sorey’s hands were cold on Mikleo’s burning hot skin. They felt strange, they felt nice. Sorey placed a cold hand on Mikleo’s forehead.

 

“You’re burning up,” he said with surprise, eyes widening.

 

“No shit Sherlock,” Mikleo quipped, gripping his chest and doubling over in a desperate attempt to steady his breathing.

 

“Mikleo!” Sorey called, shooting up into a sitting position. “What’s going on? What’s wrong? Are you alright?” Sorey began to ramble. Mikleo’s brain, which was currently fritzing and could barely process the world around him, did not appreciate it.

 

“Sorey shut up, please.” Sorey went silent, instead choosing to hold Mikleo’s shoulders and wait for him to catch his breath and explain. Slowly, the world around Mikleo began to adjust. The uneven breathing was replaced by a deadly headache and his pounding heart was compensated with a dull, empty ache in his chest.

 

“If you ever wondered why I don’t sleep,” Mikleo choked, throat still unable to work as if he had actually inhaled pounds of smoke. “Now you know.”

 

“….Night…mares…”  Sorey said softly, a pained expression growing on his face. He squeezed Mikleo’s shoulders supportively. “Have you always had nightmares?”

 

“I was prone to nightmares since I was a kid, but these are different…” He grumbled, wrapping his arms around himself. Sorey slid his arms underneath Mikleo’s holding the small, suddenly delicate looking boy carefully.

 

“Mm?”

 

“Mm.” Mikleo grunted.

 

“Not gonna elaborate?” Sorey asked, quirking an eyebrow that Mikleo couldn’t see.

 

“Not right now,” mumbled the boy. “I’ll tell you in the morning.” He pushed himself off of Sorey’s chest to look him in the eye.

 

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

 

“Let me use your shower,” Mikleo responded flatly. Sorey giggled despite himself, nodding to let Mikleo know that he was indeed, allowed to use his shower.

 

“Also,” Mikleo said, leaning heavily on the couch as he attempted to stand on his trembling legs. “Go to bed.”

 

“Alright, but you’re coming too after you finish your shower.” Sorey flicked the back of Mikleo’s head as he walked by, promptly causing Mikleo’s face to burst into flames. Sorey chuckled, “Don’t give me that look it’s no different from sleeping on the couch.”

 

Mikleo seemed to be no longer functioning though, and broke out into incomprehensible stuttering and made a noise at the end of his malfunction that sounded vaguely like a squeal.  

 

~

 

Sorey’s bleary eyes opened. He heard footsteps, and the sound of drawers. Sitting up he groped for his lamp. Finally finding it, he let his eyes adjust to the blinding light.

 

“Sorry, did I wake you up?” Mikleo mumbled, kicking a drawer closed and pulling the drawstrings tighter on his sweatpants (which, were actually Sorey’s).

 

“What are you doing…?” Sorey questioned, staring at the boy sleepily.

 

“Stealing your clothes.”

 

“….Why?”

 

“Because my clothes are soaked in nightmare sweat and wearing dirty clothes after a shower defeats the purpose of taking a shower in the first place.” Sorey responded to that with a noise that sounded vaguely like _“oh?”_ and yawned sleepily as Mikleo trudged towards him, one of Sorey’s pullover hoodies bundled in his arms.

 

As Mikleo entered the light though, Sorey flinched, eyes widening.

 

“T-That… that scar…” He was staring at Mikleo’s right shoulder, which he could see just the tips of a burn scar.  He grabbed Mikleo, spinning him around and sitting him down so that his back faced him. Mikleo yelped, but didn’t do much else, too tired to flail or scold Sorey.

 

Sorey’s eyes widened at the mistextured skin. Bits of it were lumpy, trailing all over his right shoulder, stopping only where the neckline of a shirt would end, and trailed down his back as far as it could go without being obvious while wearing a crop top. It was red, and irritated looking unlike normal scars, and it looked like it had just been done yesterday.

 

“Ugly isn’t it?” Mikleo said, disgust apparent in his own voice. He pulled the hoodie over his head and down his torso, obscuring the scar completely.

 

“No… Not at all, I just never knew you had it,” Sorey replied, fumbling for the right words. Mikleo grunted, as if he didn’t believe him, but crawled into bed anyway, burying himself completely under the covers.

 

Sorey frowned and once again groped for his light, still too tired to function properly enough to get it the first try. The room plunged into darkness the second Sorey turned the switch. There was silence for a beat, and Sorey buried himself under the covers.

 

As Sorey moved the reach for Mikleo he rolled away, “oi!” Sorey exclaimed, but Mikleo’s feet were already on the floor. He padded across the room, finding his way to Sorey’s window and pulling open the blinds.

 

“What are you doing?” Sorey grumbled, tired and just wanting to go to bed. Mikleo turned back around, hands on his hips, and Sorey’s mouth fell open.

 

The moon was making Mikleo’s hair glow a beautiful tinted blue. It emphasized his pale skin, giving it a soft, warm looking texture. The night sky made him stand out against the window, white hair popping against the navy blue. “I can’t sleep with the blinds closed,” he deadpanned, pacing back across the room and flopping into bed with the least amount of grace Sorey had ever seen Mikleo use.

 

“Okay, but what about me? Now I’m going to wake up when the sun comes up.” Sorey grumbled. But really he didn’t mind as he dragged Mikleo across the span of the bed and wrapped him up in his arms.

 

“I’ll close them when I get up, okay?” Mikleo’s grumbles were muffled by Sorey’s shirt as he nuzzled his nose deeper into it. Sorey smiled softly, craning his head to give Mikleo a kiss on top of his hair.

 

It earned him a squeak and a kick in the shin, but Mikleo also tangled their legs together, which Sorey considered a win.

 

And as they’re soft breathes became more and more even and sleep threatened them, both boys were the most content they’d been in years.

 

Both of them wanted to do this again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THESE TWO??? ARE SO?? SAPPY???
> 
> Then again I'm sappy enough to write them like this so...
> 
> ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


	9. Sometimes, the Moon Forgets to Breathe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a lot of this is dialog 
> 
> I still don't have a beta, so as usual I apologize if there are any typos or general crappy writing
> 
> Lesh go

Mikleo let whimper escape his mouth in protest to the bright sunlight that blinded his vision as he opened his eyes. Sitting up, he sat through the annoying experience of his eyes trying desperately hard to adjust to the light outside. He sighed as the world slowly came into focus, looking at the empty spot next to him. He frowned, the sun was long up, what time was it? When was the last time he woke up after sunrise?

 

He was vaguely aware of the voices coming from outside Sorey’s room, and he flinched as loud laughter erupted from somewhere outside. Mikleo looked down at his clothes that were technically Sorey’s. They were soft and warm, and also ginormous. He had to roll the sleeves up for his hands to stick out of the sweatshirt and his pants drawstrings were pulled ridiculously tight, and yet they were still big. The sweatpants’ bottoms dragged under his feet as he pulled himself out of the bed and to stand on the floor, waiting for his head to stop pounding and for the world to go back into focus as the blood rushed from his head.

 

Mikleo practically fell through the doorway, apparently not completely awake. The noise quieted, and then he heard quick footsteps. They stopped, and Mikleo took his hands away from where they were rubbing his eyes. He straightened up, taking in Sorey, who was still in fluffy lamb pajama bottoms and a zip up hoodie that only Sorey could pull off.

 

Sorey’s face pulled into his signature giddy lopsided grin, only this time it was bigger than usual, if that was even possible. Sorey broke into a run from where he was standing, and Mikleo failed to notice Alisha poke her head out from the kitchen.

 

“You’re awake!” Sorey called, sliding to a stop in front of Mikleo. Mikleo could practically feel the energy vibrating off of Sorey and it was giving him a headache, it was too early for this.

 

“What time is it?” Mikleo said grumpily, running a hand through the back of his hair absentmindedly and flinching when it caught tangles.

 

“Twelve,” Mikleo’s eyes widened. Had Mikleo ever even slept in till twelve? Had he ever even slept in past nine? _What was this?_ “Also,” Sorey giggled gently, putting a hand over his mouth while his bright green eyes danced. “Your bedhead is adorable.”

 

Mikeo’s face very quickly turned a beat red, and Mikleo reached up to rake a hand through his hair. Sorey only laughed, which left Mikleo feeling he had only made it worse.

 

“S-Shut up!” He stuttered awkwardly, only blushing harder as he listened to his own voice catch in his throat. Sorey giggled fondly, reaching out and brushing Mikleo’s cheek with his knuckle before turning back around.

 

“Alisha is here!” He called, stopping Mikleo short of rubbing his cheek with a fond smile.

 

His eyes finally locked with Alisha’s green ones, who was shyly poking her head out of the kitchen. Mikleo couldn’t stop the twinge of irritation in his chest, which was not directed at Alisha, but himself. Mikleo felt like he was lying to his friend, and whilst he and Sorey were technically not dating, or beheld any official title, there were still “more than friends”.

 

Mikleo forced himself to quirk an eyebrow and look vaguely curious, “Oh? I didn’t know you were coming over?”

 

Alisha giggled politely, stepping out of the kitchen and giving him a sweet smile. “I told Sorey I would help him study for math, but when I came over he had just woken up. And he told me you were here too so…” Alisha seemed to pause, she put a single finger over her lip and looked up at the sky, as if pondering something. “Speaking of which,” she began. “Why are you here Mikleo?” She looked back down, looking innocently curious. Mikleo felt his cheeks becoming warm, and cursed his pale skin.

 

“I came over last night and fell asleep,” he mumbled. He opened his mouth again before Alisha could, changing the topic quickly, “Have either of you eaten breakfast?”

 

Silence.

 

“Honestly, how hard is it to cook?” Mikleo whined, puffing up his cheeks and balling up his fists indignantly. Sorey laughed sheepishly, Alisha giggled and Mikleo groaned.

 

 _“Fine, I’ll make you food so you don’t starve,”_ he huffed, pacing lightly into the kitchen.

 

“Mikleo,” Sorey said softly as he passed by. “Thank you.”

 

~

 

“Mikleo,” Sorey called as Mikleo walked back into the living room with three plates, a pile of pancakes and tea for himself. “Does Edna know you’re here?”

 

Mikleo set the plates down along with a jug of syrup and plopped down on the couch on the other side of Sorey. “Well,” he said, pausing raising his tea to his lips. “I didn’t tell her, but she probably knows.” He shrugged, as if most sisters wouldn’t be worried about their brother disappearing in the middle of the night and not hearing a peep out of them since, even when it’s a little after noon.

 

“She’s not worried?” Alisha asked, looking rather worried herself. Mikleo merely shrugged again.

 

“No, she’s used to me disappearing. It’s always been a habit of mine.” He tapped thoughtfully on his hot tea cup. Alisha seemed to narrow her eyes in further concern, before leaning back into the couch and making a sound of acknowledgment. He watched with mild attentiveness as Sorey doused his pancakes in syrup, letting out a sigh.

 

“Is… There are reason for that?” Alisha asked, apparently feeling braver than usual today. Mikleo pursed his lips, looking down into his cup as if it held the secrets of the universe.

 

“I just like to think.”

 

“I-I see?” She clearly didn’t see. Even so, Mikleo didn’t elaborate. Deciding if she really wanted to know she could ponder on it and come up with her own answer. “Oh and I meant to ask you when you woke up,” she continued. “Those are Sorey’s clothes aren’t they?”

 

Mikleo made a hiccup kind of noise, sloshing his tea and bringing it away from his lips in surprise. “M-mm…” He stuttered awkwardly, taking a breath and composing himself before he continued. “Mine got wet.”

 

It wasn’t completely a lie.

 

Alisha continued on, apparently oblivious to Mikleo’s suffering. “Oh really, how?”

 

“It snowed a bit last night.” His voice was calm, but he allowed a sharp edge to it, one that yelled, _no more questions._

 

Alisha flinched, but opened her mouth to continue anyway, “But it didn’t even sti-“

 

“Alisha, your pancakes are gonna get cold,” Sorey saved, nodding to Alisha’s pancakes. Alisha squeaked, hurrying to pick up her fork and knife. Mikleo let out a sigh, and leaned back into the couch, furrowing his eyebrows. Usually when Mikleo gave Alisha the hint to stop, she stopped. So why did she keep going? He knew she knew what he meant.

 

Maybe he was just overthinking, after all Alisha was a naturally curious person.

 

“D-“ Sorey began with his mouth full. Mikleo gave him a sharp glare, and the boy stopped, chewing and swallowing. “Did you enjoy actually sleeping?”

 

Mikleo paused, and then gave Sorey a soft smile, “Yes I did thank you.”

 

“Mm,” Sorey hummed. “It’s really not healthy for you to try and function on so little sleep…”

 

“Says the person who stays up till 1:00 AM reading.”

 

“Hey! I stayed up till 1:30.”

 

Mikleo erupted into giggles, heart warming at Sorey’s adorable pout and absolute honesty. He took another sip of his tea. “Really though, thank you for worrying but I’ve been doing it for years and I’m still sort of alive.” He chuckled, “Plus, I don’t know how to fix it anyway.

 

Sorey pouted even harder, “But isn’t there like… Medicine?”

 

“I’ve tried everything, nothing works. If it did I’d use it.” Mikleo paused, “Except…” He mumbled, cheeks turning pink.

 

Sorey quirked and eyebrow, Alisha seemed utterly lost in this conversation and focused harder on her pancakes. “Except…?”

 

“S-Sleeping with other people or animals helps,” he whispered, quiet enough so that only Sorey could hear. Sorey quirked an eyebrow, and then chuckled gently.

 

"Why don't we get you a dog then?" He teased, Mikleo's face paled considerably.

 

“No, please.”

 

Sorey tilted an eyebrow, and cocked his head, “You don’t like dogs?” Mikleo shook his head shyly, and Sorey snorted, a giant smirk growing over his face. “Whaaat? Are you scared?” He drawled. Mikleo sent him a hell-freezing glare in return.

 

“No I just don’t like when they bark, or slobber, or jump on me.” He deadpanned helpfully. Sorey chuckled, prodding him in the side playfully, Mikleo snorted, and then paled.

 

              Sorey opened his mouth in an “o” and then his grin widened. He poked Mikleo in the side twice and a giggle escaped from his mouth, “All these months I knew you,” Sorey began, and Mikleo’s eyes widened in horror. “And I never knew you were ticklish.”

 

              Mikleo bolted, but Sorey was faster. He grabbed the small boy by the waist and pulled him down into his lap, earning himself a yelp from Mikleo. He pulled up the boy’s shirt, raking his hand down Mikleo’s soft sensitive skin. Mikleo yelled and flailed, bursting into giggles. Beside them Alisha’s face was growing more and more concerned, perhaps wondering if the boys were entirely sane.

 

              “Sorey _stop_ , oh my god,” Mikleo groaned inbetween giggles, wiggling desperately on Sorey’s lap. “Aliiishaaa,” he whined. “Sa-a-ave me,” he burst out into another giggling fit, this time successfully kicking Sorey in the shin.

 

              “Owe!” Sorey yelped. Mikleo took the split second hesitation to roll off of Sorey’s lap, scuttling to the far corner of the couch and staring at Sorey with big, terrified eyes. Sorey pouted, “You’re no fun.”

 

              “Monster,” Mikleo grumbled dramatically, hiding his giddy grin by pulling his knees up to his face.

 

              “Drama-queen,” Sorey teased back. Mikleo opened his mouth, prepared to start another full on bickering match, but Alisha interrupted.

 

              “Sorey, your pancakes are going to get soggy and cold. Also, did you really want help with math or did you just want me to come over?” She batted her eyelashes, a slightly hopeful look on her face.

 

              “A-ah, sorry!” Sorey yelped, grabbing his plate again. “And I really did want help with math, I’m dying.” He whined. Mikleo rolled his eyes, adjusting himself to sit straight on the couch, reaching for his tea.

 

              “O-Oh…” Alisha grumbled. “I-I’ll go get my backpack! Mikleo, are you staying or…?” She had a begging look in her eyes. Mikleo knew what she wanted. He knew she wanted him to leave so she could be alone with Sorey.

 

              But Mikleo didn’t want to leave her alone with Sorey at this point in time.

 

              Mikleo shrugged, “Sure. I’m not as good at math as you but I’d be happy to help.” Alisha nodded, deflating a bit and sighing as she went to grab her bag from the kitchen. Mikleo’s eyes trailed her, and he absentmindedly took a sip of his tea.

 

              It was cold.

 

~

 

              Mikleo was lying on his stomach staring at the clock.

 

              _12:31 AM_

He glared at it, cursing himself for not being able to fall asleep even when every bone in his body was dying from exhaustion. Thoughts were racing in his mind, he couldn’t calm down, he couldn’t think clearly.

 

              He groped for his phone, once successfully grabbing it he was nearly blinded by the bright screen. He blinked rapidly, desperately dialing the brightness down and sighing with relief. He plopped back down on the bed, now on his back.

 

              He stared at the call button that was hovering under his finger. He hesitated. A breeze blew softly through his cracked window, making the lacy blinds flutter.

 

              He pressed the button, rolling over onto his side and holding the phone to his ear.

 

              _“Mikleo?”_ Said a soft, groggy voice.

 

              “Did I wake you up?” He responded softly. There was a low hum from the other end of the line, it almost sounded content to Mikleo’s ears.

 

              _“Yeah, but its fine. Can’t sleep?”_ Sorey said gently.

 

              Mikleo sighed, “No, thinking too much.”

 

              Another hum, _“About what?”_

 

              “About a lot,” Mikleo whispered. “But, especially about Alisha.”

 

              _“Ah.”_

…

 

              _“We-“_

“Should tell her? Yeah I know.”

 

              Silence fell on the other end of the line.

 

              _“How?”_ Sorey croaked. Even over the phone Mikleo could hear the desperate nerves in the boy’s voice. Mikleo grabbed the pillow positioned beside him, wrapping an arm around it as a sense of reassurance.

 

              “I-I…” Mikleo gulped. “I have another study session with her tomorrow. If there’s a good moment, which there probably will be, I’ll tell her.”

 

              _“Are you okay with that?”_ Sorey said softly. _“We aren’t obligated to tell anyone about our relationship, especially if you’re not comfortable.”_

Mikleo bit down on his bottom lip, it slowly began to turn a pale white from lack of circulation. “But, she deserves to kno-“

 

              _“No, no one deserves to know something you consider private. It’s your business, not theirs.”_ Sorey’s voice was firm, Mikleo took a shaky breath, clutching his pillow tighter.

 

              “But I _want_ to tell her…” He whined. He could see Sorey’s gentle smile to go along with the soft chuckle he gave.

 

              _“Okay then, how about this,”_ Sorey began softly. _“Why don’t I come over to your study session tomorrow? We can tell her together.”_

“I-“ Mikleo began. “You don’t mind?” He said fondly. There was quiet laugh from Sorey’s end, and despite himself Mikleo found a smile growing on his lips.

 

 _“Of course not! We’re in this together, right?”_ Mikleo found himself nodding, even though Sorey couldn’t see it. In realization of this he hummed in agreement. There was a pause, _“So… Does that mean we have to pick a label?”_

              “Um… I guess,” Mikleo muttered, burying himself further under his covers.

 

              _“Okay then so what about…”_

“U-Um!” Mikleo stuttered, flushing with embarrassment at the sound of his own cracking voice. “A gender neutral one… Would be nice…” He muttered.

 

              _“Mm!”_ Sorey said. He sounded… Excited? _“Hmm… We can’t really say we’re dating can we… Umm… Hmm…”_

Mikleo heard shifting from the other end and chuckled. He heard soft padding of feet and he pictured Sorey pacing back and forth across the end of his room in thought. He was mumbling to himself, mumbling things Mikleo couldn’t hear from the poor audio of the phone.

 

              “Lovers?” Mikleo said softly. The padding stopped. “What about just lovers?”

 

              _“…Does that mean I can call you Love, Princess?”_ Mikleo’s entire face caught fire, and he could practically see Sorey’s full-fledged smirk as he stood in the darkness of his room.

 

              “D-Do what you want…” Mikleo grumbled. Sorey laughed, and Mikleo was _so glad_ Sorey wasn’t there to see his bright red face. He buried his face into his pillow as the light laugh rang his ears.

 

              _“Okay, okay. I like that, it’s more general.”_ Sorey said softly. Mikleo smiled, and then smirked.

 

              “So it’s a date?”

 

              Mikleo _swore_ he heard muffled squealing from Sorey’s end of the line. Mikleo found himself snickering. _“How am I supposed to go to bed now?”_ Sorey groaned. Mikleo sighed, rolling over to his other side.

 

              “Want to talk more?”

 

              _“Mm,”_ came a content hum.

 

              “About what?”

 

              _“You never told me what those nightmares were about?”_

“Ah,” Mikleo said softly, taking a deep breath. “Guess I promised, huh?”

 

~

 

              Sorey listened as Mikleo seemed to prepare himself, taking another deep breath. _“The scar…”_ Mikleo said softly. Sorey moved, padding back into his bed and crawling in, preparing himself for the tale.

 

              _“I-It’s from the same thing that started my nightmares…”_ A shuddering breath, _“I was in a fire when I was thirteen.”_

              Sorey shivered. That was only three years ago. “Mm,” he said softly, urging Mikleo to continue.

 

              _“U-Um…”_ He stuttered softly, seeming out of breath. _“It… Killed my mother.”_

Deadly silence fell across the phone line.

 

              _“The dreams don’t always start with fire. They can start about anything really. General teenage insecurities, silly childish monsters, anything. But they always end…”_ Mikleo’s voice seemed to die. Sorey heard him shift, and a pang crossed through Sorey’s chest at the thought that he might be completely uncomfortable. _“It always ends with my skin burning. With flames licking around me. With screaming, unbearable screaming. Worse than any “bloody murder” scream you’ve heard from any horror movie.”_ Mikleo choked, he sounded like he was holding back sobs. Oh, how Sorey wished he was there. It physically hurt not to be there, it physically hurt to picture Mikleo crying alone in bed. He wanted to hold him, he wanted to protect him. _“And then…”_ He sobs, Sorey’s sure Mikleo is actually crying now. _“They stop, and everything is quiet. I scream, or try to, but nothing will come out of my throat. The flames swallow everything, everything is gone. They don’t even hurt anymore, my chest hurts more at that point.”_ Mikleo’s begins to sob louder, and Sorey listens as they’re muffled, as if he covered his face with something. His breathing is heavy, and Sorey can hear him gulp loudly. _“I… I’m sorry, that’s not exactly a good bedtime story is it?”_ Mikleo laughed hollowly. Sorey flinched, know what his real laugh sounded like, it was a horrible sound to hear.

 

              “No…” Sorey said softly, carefully. “I’m glad you told it to me.” He heard a surprised choke from the other end, and a sad smile find its way onto Sorey’s lips. “Is there anything else you need to tell me?” He added. There was silence, and then a deep breath, and then Mikleo began.

 

              Mikleo told him about how he had always like girls clothes from the time he was little, some days more than others. He told him about how his mom always loved it, always supported it. Letting him wear girly things when he felt like it and masculine things when he felt like that. Even when he got older and began to grow insecurities, his mother always pushed him through them. Her professional hands taught him how to apply makeup, how to paint nails, things to do with his hair, and outfits to wear. His mother never batted an eye when he would go to take a shower in nice baggy sweatpants and a black T-Shirt and come out in short shorts and a crop top. She never batted an eye the first time he’d shyly asked her to tailor a dress he liked to fit his non-existent bust, her skilled seamstress hands making it perfectly.

 

              He told Sorey about how his confidence died with his mother, about how when he went to live with his uncle for a short time, he was constantly harassed. His uncle blamed his mother for “forcing him to wear such frilly things” and if he ever walked out in shorter shorts or a crop top, he was called a slut. He told Sorey about how Edna had dragged him over to her house one day, and told him he was never allowed to go back. About the all-out battle between Eizen and Michael that took a great toll on his stress levels. About how after he settled in Eizen started coming home less and less, too busy with work. About how he threw away and picked up millions of labels, before finally settling on the one which fit him best.

 

              At the end of his ramble he must have said _“Thank you, thank you so much,”_ a thousand times, sobbing all the while.

 

              Sorey lay in bed, heart constricting in his chest. He told Mikleo he didn’t have to apologize, that he was sorry, that he wished he had told him sooner. And then he went quiet, and just listened to Mikleo cry. He listened as the choked sobs faded, as Mikleo’s breathing became even and deep. He waited a while before gently calling, “Mikleo?” Satisfied when there was only quiet breathing in response.

 

              He ended the call with a tap, staring at the time as he did.

 

              _2:45 AM_

Sorey set is phone down on his bedside table and rolled over, eyes heavy and limbs tired. Heart sad, and mind content.

 

              He drifted off to sleep thinking of his lover.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not crying, you're crying. *Tears streaming down face* W-what do you mean? I-I just have shavings in my eye *sniffle*
> 
> SOMEONE GIVE MIKLEO A HUG
> 
> And Sorey one, and Edna, and... You know what everyone deserves hugs?
> 
> ...Can I have a hug?
> 
> This is getting really off topic I apologize. As usual I nearly fall out of bed when I see someone comments, I love comments, I will throw cookies at you if you comment, even if it's literally just you yelling at my about my bad writing.
> 
> If you have stuck with me to this chapter than bless your soul, I love you, I love everyone, goddammit I shouldn't be aloud to type past 11:00 I'm sorry bye.


	10. Bravery in Every Asepect

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fast update because I was so excited to write this I'm sorry
> 
> I was revising this chapter and realizing how far my babies have come and was like... "Wow... I can character develop. o-o"
> 
> kind of
> 
> Anyway as usual my notes are getting out of hand. There are probably typos since I suck. Enjoy~

              When Mikleo woke up he felt drowsy. He had a low, throbbing headache and his limbs felt oddly heavy. He lifted himself off of the bed, starting when his hand was placed on something cold and smooth.

  

              He sat up completely, moving his hand and seeing his phone.

 

              _Ah right._

He moved his hands up to his face and sure enough, his fingers lightly traced dried tears staining his pale complexion. He rubbed his eyes drearily, groaning and crossing his legs before reaching for his phone.

 

              _Sorey 7:00 am_

_Good morning Love._

He felt a smile slowly find his way to his lips, and his chest bubbled with a familiar warmth. _What a sap_ , he giggled under his breath, looking up to the current time.

 

              _7:15 am_

He opened the text, typing back _“Good morning to you too”_ quickly. He dragged himself out of bed, bare feet touching the fluffy carpet lightly as he trudged over to his closet. He opened it, looking right, the masculine side, and then left, the feminine side. He stared at the feminine side for too long, and found familiar frustration and longing filling his gut. He bit his lip and began riffling through his masculine clothes anyway, not really wanting to wear any of it.

 

              Finally he just pulled out a warm blue shirt and loose sweatpants because dammit, it was cold, and he didn’t even feel masculine today.

 

              He trudged over to his bathroom and turned to the mirror, nearly gagging at his disheveled appearance. His hair was pretty averagely mused, but his face still had remnants of poof-y red, and he had large eye bags under his eyes. He could now properly see the remains of salty tears that were dried on his face, making his frown deepen even further. _Great start to the day, fantastic._

 

              He grabbed a towel and began running it under warm water. He eyed his old (mostly expired) makeup laying in the corner of his sink, pressed against the bathroom wall. Maybe, his eye bags would give him an excuse to put some on. His frown slighted, and he finally turned off the water, slapping the fluffy warm towel onto his sleepy face.

 

~

 

              Alisha was scrolling through her Instagram feed. It was 10:00 AM, Mikleo was supposed to be here at noon. Her notifications dinged, and at the sight of Mikleo’s name at the top of her screen she tapped on it, worried that it was something about their study session. She widened her eyes, correct, but not in the way she had imagined.

 

              _Mikleo 10:01 AM_

_Sorey wanted to come to our study session, I told him it was okay. Figured you wouldn’t mind, but just making sure?_

Alisha’s heart pattered excitedly in her chest, she typed back: _“Of course not!”_ Fingers going so fast and trembling so much she had to retype it several times before everything was spelled correctly. She giggled, plopping back down into a laying position on her bed, a newfound excitement filling her. It was funny, how the very thought of seeing Sorey could send her into a frenzy. She loved hanging out with Mikleo, Mikleo was sweet, even if he was slightly mysterious, but Sorey was different.

 

              She frowned. On the topic of Mikleo, she might have pushed his boundaries a bit yesterday. It’s just, _she knew nothing about him,_ and he was acting so _strange._ She had never tried to push Mikleo’s boundaries, she didn’t even know where Mikleo’s boundaries were, so she had decided to find out. Looking back on it, she didn’t think Mikleo was currently angry about it, but at the time he probably didn’t appreciate it. She sighed, wishing she understood the boy.

 

              _Sorey seems to already know him so well though._ She frowned, pouting. She had known Mikleo for over double the time Sorey had, and yet she thought Sorey probably knew at least double the amount about him than her. In their friend group, besides Lailah and Edna who had known Mikleo before everyone, she was the one he was closest with, not that that was saying much apparently.

 

              _Well,_ she thought. _I guess Sorey just has a knack for getting to people._ She smiled softly, double clicking the home button and resuming her Instagram scrolling.

 

~

 

              Sorey had just realized it was unspoken how they were both planning to get to Alisha’s house when the door opened. He jumped, looking up from his phone to see Mikleo standing in his doorway. His eyes looked blue in the lighting, only gentle hints of amethyst filtering through them. It was beautiful, how they were forever changing. Sorey smiled softly, “I was just wondering what time I was supposed to go to Alisha’s.”

 

              Mikleo grunted, “Sorry I’m late, I sat with Edna this morning.” Sorey mouthed an “o”, smiling gently at Mikleo’s thoughtfulness. He nodded quietly, his chest warm and fond, the way it always was whenever Mikleo was even mentioned as of late.

 

              “But, does that mean you’re going to make me food?” He switched to a smirk. Mikleo immediately frowned and slammed the door behind him, throwing his warm vest at Sorey.

 

              “I’m not a housewife!” He yelled, but stomped into the kitchen anyway. Sorey laughed, the warm sound echoing softly in Mikleo’s ears, letting a smile stretch across his lips, even as he riffled through the fridge that seemed to be running increasingly low on food. For not the first time in his life, he wondered how Sorey was alive when he couldn’t even buy groceries or feed himself.

              As Mikleo was getting out eggs, preparing to make a simple omelette, Sorey who had apparently been standing in the entryway of the kitchen, spoke up.

 

              “Are you alright? You look a bit bothered.”

 

              Mikleo flinched, freezing with his hand still on the fridge’s handle. “Am I that obvious?” He said quietly, a slightly distant expression suddenly taking over his face. Sorey frowned walking up behind him. He placed a hand on the upper part of Mikleo’s arms, rubbing them reassuringly and tilting his head over Mikleo’s shoulder, silently asking what’s wrong.

 

              “I just felt really feminine this morning, that’s all,” he said gently, sounding a bit disappointed as he rested a hand on Sorey’s cheek before pulling away, walking over to where the eggs were on the counter.

 

              Sorey bit his lip, not knowing how to comfort his lover. He stared at Mikleo, softening at the simplistic domestic view of him lighting the stove and pacing quietly around the little kitchen, looking utterly in place and at home. Sorey closed his eyes and turned, figuring that anything he could say was something Mikleo already knew, and retreated to the living room. 

 

              Mikleo walked into the living room carrying on omelette. Sorey had been scrolling through Instagram. He was currently resting on a picture of Lailah and Rose and hadn’t even noticed Mikleo come in.

 

              “They’re so gay.” Mikleo deadpanned. Sorey jerked up, looking at the top of Mikleo’s head as he looked down over Sorey’s phone.

 

              “You think?” Blinked the forever oblivious Sorey.

 

              “I know.” Mikleo said, shifting to the side and setting Sorey’s omelette in his lap, along with a fork and knife. Sorey stared at it for a moment, and then set his phone down, smiling gently. He turned over to Mikleo, lifting his chin from blowing on his tea and planting a kiss on his porcelain cheek.

 

              “Thank you,” he whispered softly. Mikleo blushed, locking his eyes with Sorey and blinking profusely, unknowingly fluttering his beautiful white eyelashes. Mikleo tilted his head, eye color changing and fading in the light, seeming to move in between a light blue and a tinted purple. He was giving Sorey his observant falcon stare, as if dissecting an animal. But that look was different now from when he first met Mikleo, at least when he looked at him. Then it was cold, calculating, even if it was unintentional. Now it was warm, curious and often slightly concerned.

 

              He then smiled gently, eyes softening into that fond look Sorey loved so much. He set his cup of tea down, leaning forward onto his hands before reaching out and gripping Sorey’s cheek, planting a kiss on his jaw. Sorey jerked, surprised at the sudden move and feeling his cheeks slowly growing hot. Mikleo released Sorey’s face, letting his thin fingers trail down Sorey’s throat, leaving a warm tingle wherever they touched.

 

              “Of course,” he whispered gently into Sorey’s ear. “I wouldn’t ever let you feel lonely.”

 

              Mikleo backed away, sitting with one leg tucked underneath of him, and the other dangling off of the couch, still turned to Sorey. He was giving Sorey a warm, knowing look.

 

              _Of course Mikleo knew._ Sorey thought softly.

 

_After all, nothing Mikleo ever does is unintentional._

~

When Sorey and Mikleo got to Alisha’s house, Sorey was practically _vibrating._ Mikleo on the other hand seemed to have put on his infamous poker face about half way through the care ride, and looked perfectly fine. But Sorey frowned and looked over Mikleo again, finding imperfection in his tight jaw and his thumbnail digging into his palm harshly. Sorey place a hand on his lover’s shoulder briefly as he opened the door, walking inside.

 

“Alisha?” Mikleo called, adjusting his backpack casually. Sorey slipped through the doorway quietly after him, shutting the door behind him as excited feet pounded down stairs.

 

“Ah, you’re early!” She cried, but she was beaming anyway. Mikleo visibly flinched at the bright smile, and Sorey was now able to watch as his sides shook when he inhaled.

 

“Yeah, I guess we are,” he said casually, pulling out his phone and looking at the time which read 11:53 _._

“Blame Mikleo, he’s the organized one.”

 

“I’m… Going to choose to take that as a compliment.”

 

“Good decision!”

 

Both of them giggled lightly, the tension in the air briefly lessening. Alisha cleared her throat politely, and the moment of relaxation was gone as soon as they locked eyes with her. “Why don’t we sit down at the table, you two?” She giggled softly. Sorey jumped at her voice, Mikleo calmly walked around the entranceway and maneuvered into the other room, where a small round table was sitting. He threw his back pack down, apparently claiming what was his usual seat, got a book out and began to read. Sorey moved too, but sat further away from him to give him some space, and Alisha sat down right next to Mikleo.

 

Silence passed for a while. Nothing but Alisha’s occasional humming or Mikleo’s tapping would fill the air. Finally Alisha looked up from her homework, taking in Mikleo’s appearance. “Your hair is getting pretty long, isn’t it Mikleo?”

 

Mikleo looked up, shutting his book with his finger in it to mark his page he nodded his head slowly. “Mmm…” He said, twirling a piece of curly silver by his ear that was slightly longer than the others. “It used to be long, I was going to try and grow it out again.” Alisha’s eyes seemed to light up, and she put down her pencil completely.

 

“Really?! I bet it’s so pretty long!” A bush dusted Mikleo’s cheeks and he muttered something inaudible under his breath that sounded something like “It’s not _that_ great”. But Alisha continued, “When it gets long enough you have to let me play with it!” She giggled. Mikleo smiled gently, and perhaps a bit sadly.

 

“Of course, but you’ll have to share with Lailah. She loved to style it,” he said softly, moving to open his book back up before pausing, as if seeming to remember something. “Oh by the way, Sorey actually came because we wanted to talk to you about something.”

 

_Already?!_ Sorey thought desperately, but stood up and moved beside Alisha anyway, so she was sitting in between the two of them. Mikleo grabbed a post it note, sticking it in between the smooth pages of the well cared for book. “E-Eh?” Alisha stuttered. “W-What? What do we need to talk about?” But she was looking at Sorey, he cheeks lit aflame from embarrassment at him being fairly close to her. The room fell silently, Mikleo had his hands clenched in his lap silently. Alisha, apparently feeling the serious atmosphere turned back to Mikleo. “Mikleo? Is something wrong?”

 

“I’ve… Been lying to you.” He said quietly. Alisha’s eyes widened at the confession, confusion taking over her pure expression.

 

“Wha-“

 

“I-It’s not really that I’ve been lying to you! It’s just… T-That I haven’t been telling you about something that might… No will… Affect you.” Alisha stared in shock. Not so much at the confession, but more at the fact that Mikleo was stuttering, and seemed at a loss for words. She turned to Sorey, who wasn’t looking at her, but at Mikleo, with a concerned expression. He started at realization of the light green eyes on him, and gave Alisha a small, gentle smile.

 

“We both haven’t been telling you about everything.”

 

“Sorey and I-“ But Mikleo’s voice gave out, choking as a panicked expression came over his face. He stopped, and instead looked away. Alisha’s eyes flickered back and forth between the two, bordering somewhere on panic and concern.

 

"Alisha," Sorey said softly. Mikleo flinched. "You have a crush on me, right?” His voice was gentle and controlled, almost as if talking to a child, but without belittlement. Alisha’s eyes widened, and her face came bright red. Sorey laughed gently. “Should I take that expression as a yes?”

 

“W-Well! I-I… Um…” Sorey waited. He wanted her to say it, herself. To his face. So he waited, his eyes boring into her own. Mikleo seemed to of finally calmed down, looking towards the two to stare at them. “I-I do…” She finally muttered, balling her hands up in the lap and looking down with a bright red expression. Sorey bit his lip, and Mikleo moved from the other side of Alisha, plopping down and leaning against Sorey so they sat back to back.

 

It was Mikleo’s reminder that not one of their struggles was lesser than the other’s.

 

“Can I say it?” Sorey whispered.

 

“You’re the one she’s crushing on, baka.” Mikleo replied, opening one eye. The odd lighting didn’t make it look lilac or blue, but as Mikleo turned his head and Sorey shifted so he could see the side of the boy’s face, he could see it looked gray. Like a cloud with the gentle blue sky laying behind it, only really showing when the sun shone through it just right.

 

“Ba…ka…?” Was all Sorey managed to say.

 

Mikleo smirked, “It means idiot in Japanese.”

 

Sorey sighed, not until he went to bed that night did he realize that this was Mikleo’s way of lightening the mood.

 

“Alisha,” he said softly. Mikleo turned forward again, pressing his back harder into Sorey’s for support. “Mikleo and I…”

 

Sorey took a deep breath, closing his eyes and gently exhaling, reminding himself that no matter what, the world kept spinning. This would be fine. “Are lovers.”

 

Even though Sorey had just been reminding himself that the world kept spinning, it suddenly felt like it had stopped. Time seemed to still, and it took Sorey a moment to realize he wasn’t breathing. He took a gulping breath in, and then a shaky one out, not daring to look at Alisha’s expression.

 

“Sorey and I are lovers.” Mikleo said in conformation. To Sorey it sounded like he was admitting it to himself more than to Alisha. He felt Mikleo release a breath again his back, and Mikleo’s eyes fluttered open, he turned to look at Alisha calmly, his cloudy grayish blue eyes glazed with an oddly tranquil calm.

 

“W-Wha?” Alisha said, she was trembling, and her eyes were wide in shock. Mikleo got up, the support Sorey hadn’t been aware he was using suddenly gone, almost causing him to tumble backwards.

 

Mikleo kneeled down in front of Alisha and grabbed both of her hands, stroking them with soft reassurance. “I’m sorry for not telling you, I was afraid, and I didn’t want to hurt you.” Mikleo’s gaze was intense, not scary, but serious. He wasn’t going to sugar coat anything, Sorey could tell that. Mikleo didn’t want to hurt Alisha with his lies more than he already had.

 

“How… Long?” She choked. Mikleo laughed quietly, and gave her a bittersweet smile.

 

“Honestly? I don’t know when it happened. Maybe it was when I started trusting him, perhaps it was when he told me I looked beautiful in the rain, or when he kissed my hair.” He said softly. Despite himself, Sorey choked, blushing madly. Mikleo, as if he had eyes in the back of his head seemed to pick this up and laughed, squeezing Alisha’s hands tighter, despite her increasingly paling face at his brutal words. “I’m sorry if I’m being cruel, but I don’t want to lie to you anymore.”

 

Tears began to run down Alisha’s face, and suddenly Sorey felt this wasn’t his place to be. He got up silently, making his way into the living room across the hall and opening the doors. Alisha listened to him go, Mikleo was vaguely aware of his disappearing presence. Alisha squeezed Mikleo’s hands back, beginning to sob. “I’m sorry, I’m being selfish. I want to be happy for two and say congratulations b-but…” She sniffled, choking. Mikleo only sat and listened quietly. “I didn’t even think about the possibility, a-and it’s too much to process.” She gagged. Mikleo ran his thumb over her knuckles quietly, staring intently into her sad, green eyes.

 

“I mean… When did I…” She chocked, finally looking up into Mikleo’s face while biting her lip. “When did I stop having a chance?”

 

Mikleo bit his lip, letting go of Alisha’s hands and throwing his arms around her neck, pulling her close. “I will only apologize for lying, I won’t apologize for falling in love with him.” Mikleo said firmly, pulling himself into Alisha’s lap to rub the back of her neck reassuringly. Alisha wrapped her arms around Mikleo’s waist in return, pressing the two of them together.

 

“I just…” She sniffled. “I should’ve realized it, and I should’ve _done something about it.”_ She whined, burying her face into Mikleo’s shoulder. “I love both of you, you’re amazing people, you’re amazing friends and I want you to be happy Mikleo… But I still…” She trailed off, breaking out into sobs.

 

Mikleo smiled sadly, tilting his head so it rested on the back of Alisha’s. “Of course you wish he was yours. That’s natural. You liked him didn’t you? Of course it would hurt. Of course you would wish it would have worked out differently.” Mikleo took a breath, steadying himself. “Does your chest hurt?” He said quietly. Alisha nodded, and Mikleo began to rub her back. “You regret a lot?” She nodded. “Do you blame me?” She shook her head aggressively, wrapping her arms around him tighter, clinging to him as if he was her life force. “Do you blame Sorey?” Again, she shook her head, whimpering quietly.

 

“Can you get over it?” A pause. Alisha took a breath, and took her weight off of the small boy, looking at him in the face while whipping her tears, giving him a sad, but hopeful smile.

 

“What other choice do I have?” She laughed. Mikleo broke into a genuine smile. He stood, grabbing her hand and helping her up. Alisha sniffled, beginning to rub her eyes.

 

“Ah!” Mikleo explained, pulling her hands away from her face. “You’re going to make your mascara smudge.” Alisha’s eyes widened, and a blush took over her already ready poofy cheeks.

 

“Eek!” She exclaimed, running towards the bathroom and out of sight. Mikleo laughed, watching her go.

 

“Good thing it was waterproof,” he mumbled gently, turning around and going to open the living room doors to find his lover.

 

He was laying on a brown leather catch with his back facing Mikleo, only flipping over when the doors shut behind him. Mikleo gave him a concerned smile as he floated towards him elegantly, “Were you worrying?” He said softly.

 

Sorey bit his lip, sitting up and nodding. Mikleo sat down, gracefully tucking his legs partially underneath of him, facing Sorey sideways. “Mm,” Sorey hummed, looking down and twiddling with his fingers. “Is everything…?” He looked up into Mikleo’s eyes worryingly, eyes darting around the room as if looking for Alisha.

 

“Everything’s fine,” Mikleo giggled softly. Sorey visibly relaxed, and then opened his mouth again. “Alisha is fixing her makeup, she smudged her mascara.” He paused, a thoughtful expression taking over his face, “She’s definitely hurt, but she’s strong, and she said she wants to get over it. She’s happy for both of us, and she doesn’t blame either of us.” He gave Sorey a reassuring smile. Sorey let out a dramatic breath, and Mikleo giggled again.

 

The floor vibrated as footsteps pounded towards the living room.

 

“Sorey,” Mikleo began. Sorey titled his head at Mikleo curiously.

 

“Arigatō.”

 

Alisha burst in the room, hurdling straight for Sorey and wrapping her arms around him. Sorey yelped, Mikleo laughed. “Sorry!” Alisha yelped, jumping off of him.

 

Sorey let loose a soft laugh. “It’s okay! I like hugs,” he teased. Alisha flushed, and then bit her lip and took a breath. But Sorey waved, “You don’t have to force yourself to say anything. We’re cool, right?” He smiled gently. Alisha nodded aggressively, biting her lip harder and forcing herself not to break out into tears again. “Good,” he said quietly, grabbing Alisha and wrapping his arms around her. “Alisha, you’re an important friend to me. Elysia was always small, there were no other kids around, but when you came it really lit the place up. It was the first time I had ever really talked to another kid, much less a girl.” He laughed, and then took a breath. Mikleo was smiling fondly, perhaps with a bit of exasperation. Alisha was trembling in his arms. “You showed me lots of things, and you’re extremely important to me. I wouldn’t want to lose you.”

 

It was quiet for a while, but it was not awkward, simply thoughtful. After a while Alisha finally pulled herself out of Sorey’s arms, forcing herself to give him a tight lipped smile, and a nod.

 

“Now,” Mikleo said. “I’m pretty positive none of us are going to be able to concentrate on studying after that emotional dilemma. Sorey can’t even concentrate on studying when they’re not an emotional dilemma.” Sorey made an offended sound, Alisha laughed, Mikleo sighed with relief. Alisha stood up straight, pressing a finger into her cheek in humming.

 

“You two can go home if you want, or you can stay. I’m not going to boot you out,” she giggled.

 

“We’ll sta-“

 

“We’ll leave.” Mikleo interrupted, beginning to walk out of the living room quietly.

 

“Mikleo! That’s impolite!” Sorey yelled, darting to follow Mikleo. Sorey frowned as he shut the doors of the living room behind him, about to yell out to Mikleo again.

 

“Alisha needs time to think about this on her own. If we stay she’s just going to box things up and hurt herself more.” He continued from his brief pause, filing things neatly into his backpack and zipping it up, swinging it over his shoulder. Sorey sighed, giving in and grabbed his own, shoving stuff into it much less tidily.

Suddenly he paused, “Want me to drive you home?”

 

Mikleo looked surprised, tilting his head at Sorey. “I thought we would go back to study at your house, do you not want to?”

 

“No, I just figured you would want to change.” Sorey grunted as he slung his backpack full of ~~bricks~~ textbooks over his shoulder. Mikleo’s eyes widened, his mouth falling open briefly before his eyes softened.

 

“That would actually be nice, thank you.” Then he stopped walking for a second and then turned around in the doorway. “Why don’t we just study at my house then? Eizen isn’t home, Edna is probably lonely…” He paused, “Even if she won’t admit it.” He grumbled.

 

For some obscene reason, Sorey’s green eyes sparkled at this. “Sure! Let’s go!” He said, practically shoving Mikleo out the door, causing him to speak violently in what Sorey presumed to be Japanese (he was cursing).

 

“Jee, you’re so simple,” he grumbled, flicking the back of Sorey’s head, but smiling all the matter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: If I use the words "baka" and "arigato" will that make me look like a weaboo?
> 
> Brain: Yes.
> 
> Me: *uses them anyway*


	11. Soft Snow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have this tiny snipit of fluff before shit hits the fan again

Their relationship stayed relatively the same.

 

One would think once they outright told someone about their relationship, it would be a big step, a huge life changer.

 

But it wasn’t.

 

Mikleo had told Alisha not to flaunt their relationship and tell everyone about it. Of course, it was no secret, he told Alisha that if anyone asked she was welcome to tell them. Mikleo wasn’t one for attention, and therefore, didn’t really want the _entire school_ talking about their relationship. Sorey almost seemed to like the aspect, but that’s also probably because he’s a social butterfly to the max.

 

Mikleo also got a strange kind of satisfaction on waiting for people to figure it out on their own. Perhaps, he would just like to see the look on their faces.

 

But in any case, now midterms are over. Mikleo got an A in every subject, except for his math course where he got an A-. Sorey got similar grades, except for math, which he just barely passed. Everyone in their friend group at least managed to pass everything, so no one had to do any retakes, and the kids finally were able to relax a bit over Christmas break.

 

Mikleo awoke to familiar and yet unfamiliar warmth. It was the day after Christmas, Eizen was home.

 

_Eizen was home._

Mikleo’s eyes fluttered open in realization, finding his arm draped across a full grown man’s broad chest. On the opposite side of the man was Edna, her arms wrapped tightly around her brother’s neck. Despite the giant king sized bed the siblings slept in, they were pressed so tightly together they took up hardly any of it.

 

Turquoise eyes turned towards him, Eizens blonde hair shifting around his head as he turned to stare with Mikleo. Mikleo released a breath, crawling out of bed in realization that Eizen was already awake, and he wouldn’t wake him up if he moved. His pale feet touched the floor as he slid out of bed with as little disturbance as possible, and padded out of the room to leave the two original siblings alone.

 

Mikleo looked around as he exited the hallway and entered the main part of the house, pleased to see that it wasn’t too messy. In most families, Christmas was chaos. But here, where there were no official parents to make the rules, it was pretty casual. Each one of them usually got the others one present, occasionally two. There was never a set time for opening them, they usually just went about their day normally until one of the three of them threw a present at someone or shoved one in their face, and then they gradually began opening things.

 

He walked out of the living room, phone now in his hand. It hadn’t charged last night, so it was on a daunting 4%, probably partially thanks to Sorey’s many text messages. The time read 7:30AM, and he opened the weather app to see that it was actually supposed to have a high of 49°F, even though yesterday the high was only 35. Mikleo sighed, trudging up the stairs to his room and plugging in his phone. He opened the closet lazily, finding that he didn’t have a particular preference for either side today and grabbing a white sweatshirt crop top and fairly gender neutral lightweight sweatpants, planning to take advantage of the semi-nice weather in the middle of December.

 

~

 

Sorey woke up to his phone ringing. He grumbled, glaring at it when it didn’t magically stop. He sat up, groping for it desperately, eyes widening at the contact name.

 

“Mikleo?” He asked, holding the phone to his ear.

 

_“What were all the texts about? I didn’t even read them there were so many.”_

Sorey blushed, there weren’t _that many._ “I-I guess I just got excited, sorry…” He said nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.

 

 _“I guess Zenerus was home, wasn’t he? So it’s understandable.”_ Sorey released a breath he hadn’t known he was holding.

 

“Ooh!” He piped up suddenly. “What’d you get for Christmas?”

 

Mikleo giggled from the other end of the line, and he heard the sound of bedsprings. He was able to subconsciously perfectly envision the way Mikleo would sit down on a bed, the very epitome of grace. _“Mmm… Eizen I think got me some socks, and some books, as always.”_ He paused, Sorey shifted on his bed in curiosity. _“E-Edna gave me a gift card to a makeup store.”_ He stuttered. Sorey’s eyes widened visibly, a bit in awe and surprise.

 

“Do you wear makeup?”

 

 _“N-No! Well…”_ He trailed off, Sorey had to bite back a chuckle at the vision of his bright red cheeks. _“Sometimes, most of my makeup is expired though, which is why Edna bought me that.”_ Sorey could see hear shifting, guessing Mikleo was fidgeting nervously. _“I’ve never worn a lot at one time, I just like to play with it sometimes,”_ he mumbled quietly.

 

“Nothing wrong with that,” Sorey chuckled. He swore he heard a sigh from the other end.

 

_“What about you?”_

“Books, lots of books.” Sorey paused, before his eyes widened in excitement. “Oh, you’ll never believe this!”

 

Mikleo chuckled, _“What?”_

“I got a _signed copy_ of the Celestial Record! _Signed!_ And you’ll never guess who wrote it. Apparently it was Miche-“

 

_“Don’t say that name.”_

Sorey’s flinched, shocked. Mikleo’s voice was cold and quick, carrying pure bubbling hatred that sounded like it had been sharpened into a dagger over years of remorse. There was silence, and then suddenly Mikleo gasped.

 

_“I’m so sorry! I- Um…”_

Sorey laughed nervously, “Its fine. I know you aren’t fond of the Celestial Record, right?”

 

“ _It’s… Not the Celestial Record I’m not fond of.”_

 

“Huh?” Sorey questioned, tilting his head even though Mikleo couldn’t see it.

 

 _“T-that’s kind of complicated,”_ Mikleo laughed nervously. _“U-Um…”_ He said quietly.

 

Sorey smiled gently, “Are you coming over today? Gramps would probably like to meet you, without you leaving half way through.” He hesitated though, losing whatever cool he had, “B-But if you wanted to stay the day with Eizen and Edna that’s co-“

 

 _“No it’s fine I’ll come.”_ He said lightly, taking quick advantage of the subject change. _“They’ll probably sleep for another five hours anyway,”_ he grumbled under his breath. Sorey laughed, and Mikleo squeaked.

 

“Please wear whatever you’re comfortable in, gramps won’t care.” Sorey said sweetly.

 

 _“I’m feeling kind of in-between today, but I’m currently in a sweat shirt crop top and sweat pants, does that even count as presentable?”_ Sorey laughed at this, smiling fondly.

 

“Yes, and I’m sure it’s adorable. Please don’t change I’ll be sad,” he pouted. Mikleo made a noise that was probably supposed to sound exasperated but ended up sounding embarrassed from the other end of the line, and Sorey had to bite his lip to stop himself from bursting out laughing again.

 

 _“Alright, I’ll slowly make my way over there,”_ Mikleo mumbled. Sorey smiled brightly, and was prepared to respond when he heard a familiar beep that signaled Mikleo hung up. Sorey took the phone away from his ear, frowning at it childishly.

 

He bounced back quickly though, practically springing out of bed and rushing out to the living room area directly outside his bedroom. “Gramps!” He called. The older man peaked out from the kitchen, giving Sorey a fond but exasperated smile.

 

“It’s too early for you to already be a destructive ball of energy,” he quipped. Sorey laughed nervously, twiddling his thumbs.

 

“Mikleo’s coming over.”

 

Zenerus cocked an eyebrow, “So early?”

 

“Mm!” Sorey said, nodding energetically. “He comes over early all the time. He makes me breakfast a lot.”

 

Zenerus’ face became one of genuine surprise. “Even on school days?”

“Only when he doesn’t sleep. Which is like, a lot, so…” Sorey trailed off, his expression becoming oddly fond as he stared off into the distance. Zenerus smiled, perhaps a bit sadly.

 

“Good, I was worried you were lonely.” He said before pacing back into the kitchen.

 

~

 

Zenerus turned as the door to their house opened. He walked out of the kitchen, immediately meeting Sorey’s silver haired friend in the doorway. He was unzipping his vest, and Zenerus was a bit surprised at his attire. It was so different from the last time he had seen the boy, looking so put together and polite, a bit stiff, and very uncomfortable. The boy was now as relaxed as if he was in his own home, his hair curled down around his chin, ruffled lightly and bouncing as he slid off his shoes. His eyes a brighter, and just a tinge of his stomach was showing beneath his short sweatshirt. He was also wearing casual black pants, mostly baggy with loose elastic at the bottom

“Called it!” He heard Sorey yell, and then suddenly the small boy was being enveloped in Sorey’s arms.

 

“What’d you call?” Zenerus chuckled. Mikleo pulled away from Sorey, his cursedly pale face making him blush madly.

 

“Told him he’d look adorable in what he was wearing,” Sorey smirked. Mikleo pretended to look annoyed, but Zenerus didn’t fail to miss the smile that twinged on his lips.

 

“Oh? I see.”

 

Throughout the day Zenerus noticed that the vibe the two boys gave off together was completely different from when he first Mikleo. Then, they were clearly important to each other, but now it was different. They continuously unconsciously caught each other’s eyes, not afraid to stare into them for long periods of time, one observing the other. They were both constantly aware of each other’s movements, and they seemed to stay closer together, not afraid to squish together on the couch. Last time it was like they were dancing around each other, too afraid they would step on one of the other’s boundaries.

 

“How’s Alisha?” Zenerus asked out of the blue. Both of the boy’s stopped their bickering over some historical event. They looked up at Zenerus, Sorey looked nervous, Mikleo looked sad. Zenerus raised an eyebrow, “What happened?” He said wisely.

 

Mikleo broke into a smirk, looking pointedly at Sorey. “Sorey broke her heart,” he sang. Sorey’s cheeks reddened, and he stuttered. Mikleo straightened out again, meeting Zenerus with eyes far too wise for a boy his age. “We told Alisha we were together. We’re all still on good terms, Alisha is just working through things.”

 

“I see,” he said. His thoughts on their relationship were confirmed far quicker than he ever expected.

 

“M-Mikleo! I never told gramps about us!” Sorey whined, eyes widening in horror. Mikleo shrugged calmly.

 

“Well, now he knows.” Sorey gaped.

 

“Aren’t you the one who’s usually uncomfortable about people knowing?”

 

“Yes, but Zenerus is smart. I’m fairly certain he figured it out hours ago, I didn’t even really need to tell him.” Sorey jerked towards Zenerus, eyes big like a surprised puppy, but his guardian only chuckled lightly, bobbing his head in something like agreement.

“Why am I the only dumb person here?” Sorey whined. Mikleo immediately frowned at this, and smacked Sorey over the head.

 

“You’re not dumb.”

 

“Wha-“

 

“You’re not dumb. I’m the only one who’s aloud to call you dumb, you’re not allowed to call yourself dumb.”

 

Sorey looked absolutely bewildered, but despite Mikleo’s teasing tone his face was serious, and his lips were pursed, maybe one could go so far to say he looked a bit worried. Sorey rolled his eyes, “Whatever you say.”

 

“Ah, what time is it?” Mikleo said, pulling his phone out of his pocket. “I was going to go to that store today before it closes.”

 

“The one Edna got you a gift card for?” Sorey tilted his head at Mikleo curiously.

 

Mikleo nodded, “Is it okay if I go ahead and go?” He looked up at Zenerus, not Sorey for permission.

 

“Don’t look at me,” Zenerus teased lightly, walking out of the room and leaving the two lovers alone briefly.

 

Mikleo tilted his head up at Sorey, and Sorey smiled softly. “Why are you asking? Just leave,” he chuckled. Mikleo blinked, and then stood, brushing non-existent dust off his pants.

 

“Ah Mikleo, one last thing,” Sorey said softly, gripping the boy’s hand and making him spin around.

 

Sorey pulled him down, pressing his lips on the flesh right beside Mikleo’s own, letting them linger. Mikleo pulled away, rubbing the spot Sorey had kissed right beside his mouth as the boy’s cheeks slowly gained color. “Thanks for coming today,” Sorey said softly, giving Mikleo a gentle smile.

~

 

Mikleo meandered around the makeup store. Some of the girls were looking at him funny, making his skin crawl ever so slightly. But some people completely ignored him, passing by him like it was normal, which was always a particularly nice feeling. One girl even gave him a sweet smile, he made sure to smile back.

 

When he was finished he set the small bag of stuff down at the counter, and was surprised when he found a largely built many behind it. Not, that he was one to judge, but the man looked completely out of place. He glanced at the name tag, _Sergei Stelkra._

“For your girlfriend?” He snapped his eyes back up to the man’s face, it looked innocent, understanding, and perhaps a bit pitiful. It bothered Mikleo a bit, but he chose to ignore it.

 

“Yeah, sure,” he decided to respond, knowing he would very well never meet the man again. He placed the gift card on the counter, sliding it towards “Sergei”. Apparently though this wasn’t enough for Sergei, as he continued.

 

“You must be a very loyal boyfriend, actually going to a makeup store for her,” Mikleo twitched, choosing to ignore the comment all together, knowing that the big sweet man meant well. The second he wrung up the price to be almost exactly the amount of the gift card, covering the costs, Mikleo left, blocking out the, “I hope your girlfriend enjoys it!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Sergei actually will be in this fic, I did not just put him in the tags because I felt like it


	12. Hot Tears and Flames

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you go ;). This is a bit longer than usual, not by much, but enough for me that I got lazy proof reading. So sorry 'bout that.

It was the last night of Christmas break. Sorey had, of course, finished all of his homework last minute and was now reading to himself before bed. It was 12:43, he should probably be asleep, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to anyway.

 

The front door opened quietly, and Sorey jerked up, heart temporarily pounding in his chest before he remembered that Mikleo seemed to enjoy randomly coming into his house in the middle of the night.

 

_But this late, right before school starts?_

 

The door to his bedroom opened, and in slipped a pale figure. Mikleo turned around to face Sorey, and even in the dim light Sorey could tell he was on the verge of tears. Mikleo closed the door awkwardly, staring at Sorey and beginning to shift on the balls of his feet. Sorey smiled gently in return, pulling back the covers beside him as a silent signal.

 

Mikleo smiled nervously and hesitantly slinked towards the bed, before crawling in and tucking his knees to his chest. He kept a respectable distance from Sorey, not too close but never too far.

 

Sorey took a moment to observe the condition his lover was in. He looked a bit rattled, he was shaking and clutching his knees a bit too tightly. He didn’t look depressed, more nervous and flinch-y, and was breathing like he had just run a marathon.

 

Sorey placed a hand on Mikleo’s back quietly, earning only a flinch and a squeak at the steady supportive pressure.

 

“Sorry for bothering you so late.”

 

“Don’t apologize, I like having you here.” Sorey said softly, moving his hand up to Mikleo’s shoulder and beginning to rub the back of the boy’s neck. “Did something happen?”

 

Mikleo’s eyebrows furrowed, as if he wasn’t quite sure what had happened either. “Edna and Eizen wouldn’t stop fighting. That’s not that abnormal but…” He drifted off, before suddenly pulling the pillow down behind him and moving to lay down. He pulled his knees up to his chest under the covers, hiding his face away with the blanket and clutching it tightly.

 

“But…?” Sorey inquired, opting to scoot closer to Mikleo under the covers and setting a hand on his side, careful to caress his thumb along his back where he wasn’t ticklish for once.

 

“Nothing,” Mikleo said, burrowing himself farther under the covers whilst simultaneously scooting closer to Sorey. “It was just too loud.”

 

Sorey hummed, not believing that’s all there was to the story, but allowing it to drop anyway. Instead choosing to move his hand to the exaggerated dip in Mikleo’s waist as a side effect of his position, and choosing to let it sit there and feel the slowly steadying breaths underneath of it.

 

After a while Sorey chose to look down at his lover again. Mikleo’s breaths were now soft and steady, and his slowly growing hair was spilling over the pillow, glowing softly in the lamp light. The lamp also kept casting beautiful shadows across his face, making his eyelashes appear even longer than they already were. He looked utterly peaceful, and so natural and sweet. It was making Sorey’s heart bloom with all kind of fond emotions, and he slid his hand down to Mikleo’s hip, letting it map out the bone structure before letting it rest briefly.

 

Sorey smiled, his green eyes dancing fondly as he shut his book and set it on the bedside table, turning the light out. He placed one hand one the other side of his sleeping lover before leaning down, letting his lips tickle his beloved’s ear.

 

“You’re so beautiful.”

 

Only soft breathing.

 

“I’m so lucky,” he whispered quietly whilst allowing himself to collapse down into the bed, wrapping an arm around the front of Mikleo and pressing his chest into his back, tangling their legs together.

 

~

 

              Sorey and Mikleo woke up to an annoying buzzing. Sorey groaned loudly, because whilst he was usually a morning person, he was really comfortable at the moment.

 

              Mikleo finally stirred against Sorey, apparently too annoyed by the buzzing of Sorey’s phone to lay down any longer. He pushed Sorey off of him, then proceeding to climb over top of him and aggressively turn off the alarm, and then practically stepped on top of Sorey while climbing off the bed. He still managed to look graceful.

 

              “Mikleo-o-o…” Sorey whined, sitting up and pouting at his beloved. Mikleo, however, only glared and rolled his eyes, attempting to look somewhat irritated as he walked out of the room.

 

              Mikleo immediately entered the living room, walking over to his school backpack which he had had half a mind to bring even amongst his hurry to _get out._ He pulled a white long sleeved shirt and a decent looking pair of warm jeans out of it and walked into the guest bathroom to begin changing.

 

              Sorey went about his usual morning routine. Quickly hoping in the shower, brushing his teeth, putting on decent looking clothes, kind of sort of running his hand through his hair to make it look somewhat normal.

 

              When he walked out of the bathroom he could hear Mikleo’s voice coming from the kitchen. Curious, he jogged over to the little galley way kitchen, peaking in to see what Mikleo was doing. Mikleo was standing at a pan, what looked like an omelette sitting inside of it. He was on the phone with a twisted expression on his face, somewhere between emotional hurt and annoyance.

 

              “Edna I’m not mad.”

 

              Sorey shifted, before deciding to simply lean against the doorway as he watched Mikleo cook, knowing better by now than to try and help.

 

              “Edna, no.” Mikleo said exasperatedly. “Edna I’m _fine._ Tell that too Eizen too. It was just too loud, and I wanted to sleep.” Mikleo caught Sorey out of the corner of his eye, and smiled weakly before rolling his eyes. Sorey gave him a weak smile back, sliding into the kitchen and positioning himself behind Mikleo, nuzzling his nose into his nape and loosely draping his arms around his torso. He let the heat from Mikleo’s back radiate into his chest, making him feel warm and comfortable from head to toe.

 

              “Yes, I am.” He said bluntly, flipping the omelette on the pan and turning off the stove to let it simmer before leaning back into Sorey. “No- Edna…” He sighed, beginning to rub his temple and shut his eyes. “It’s not like that and you know it.”

 

              Sorey listened as there were a couple of moments of silence, taking his nose out of Mikleo’s hair and moving his chin to the top of his head instead.

 

              Suddenly he felt Mikleo stiffen underneath of him. There was silence for a minute before Mikleo stuttered, “I-I love you too…?”

 

              Sorey nearly burst out laughing and had to bury his face into Mikleo’s hair to stop a giggle fit. “B-Because you never say stuff like that!” He continued to stutter. Sorey didn’t need to look up to see the blush slowly climbing over Mikleo’s face, the one he was usually the cause of.

 

              “Okay, Edna. _See you at school._ Yes. I’m fine. _Goodbye._ ” Mikleo hung up and stared at his phone for a minute, as if in a daze. Sorey lifted his head and Mikleo shrugged him off, moving to put the omelette on a plate before he burned it.

 

              He then turned to Sorey with a very, very serious and annoyed expression. “Sorey, don’t get siblings. They’re overrated.”

 

~

 

              When Mikleo wandered into history class he almost walked right back out the door and went home. There, sitting in one of the front seats, was Sergei Stelkra from the makeup store who seemed to very enthusiastically think that first of all, Mikleo had a girlfriend. Second of all, Mikleo was straight in general and _goddammit why him._

              Sergei turned around and gave Mikleo a big smile and waved. Mikleo smiled politely back before moving to his usual seat beside Sorey. Sorey raised an eyebrow and nudged curiously, “Do you know him?”

 

              Mikleo groaned, dropping his voice to a whisper. “He works at that makeup store. By the way, he thinks I have a girlfriend.”

 

              Sorey did absolutely everything in his power not to laugh, but let out a snort anyway. Mikleo buried his face in his arms and groaned again. “So, how did that happen?” Sorey chuckled, his voice shaking with the desperate want to laugh.

 

              “When I went up to the front desk he said ‘Oh, for your girlfriend?’ and I didn’t really feel like explaining the situation because like, why would I ever see him again? So I just kind quietly agreed and he went ranting about how nice I was to go out of the way to do something as embarrassing as getting makeup and oh god Sorey help me.” Mikleo moved his face to his hands, letting out a quiet frustrated screech. Sorey was biting his thumb now in an attempt not to laugh, and it hurt like hell.

 

              “Oh my god,” was all Sorey managed to say in return before burying his face in his hands. Everyone was looking at them funny, considering they were usually the only people who were quiet and polite in this class. Not, that class had started yet anyway, but still.

 

              “Its fine, it’ll all be fine. I’ll just tell him the truth,” Sorey raised an eyebrow at him in surprise, eyes widening. Mikleo peaked his head out from his hands, glaring. “ _Not_ that I’m genderfluid, I’ll just tell him I got it for someone else and I agreed because it was easy to.”

 

              “Mm,” Sorey hummed. He seemed to finally have gotten a hold on himself. Luckily Mayvin decided to show up then, and not when he was almost making his thumb bleed from holding back laughter. Mayvin strode to the front of the class, his eyes sparkling even brighter than normal.

 

              “For those of you who haven’t had a class with him yet, we have a transfer student!” The professor said enthusiastically, nodding of at Sergei. Sergei waved politely in return and smiled, and then turned around to face most of the class.

 

              “I am Sergei Stelkra, nice to meet all of you, I hope to make friends with many of you.” There were some giggles, but Mikleo decided it was mostly girls tittering about how sweet and innocent he was, not cruel laughter.

 

              After class Sergei walked up to Mikeo, placing his hands on Mikleo’s desk and what would usually be considered a frightening manner and smiling brightly. “Hello! It is nice to see a familiar face,” he chuckled. Mikleo looked up, giving the man a smile.

 

              “I would imagine! Do you not know anyone here?” He said innocently, batting his eyelashes. This was one of the many things that would never cease to amaze Sorey. Whilst Mikleo wasn’t particularly fond of being social, and could be awkward and unsure at times, when he was forced to be he was _damn good at it._

“No I don’t!” Sergei laughed loudly, finally backing out of Mikleo’s personal bubble and allowing him to continue filing away his notebooks neatly. Sorey’s had already been shoved half-hazardly into his backpack. “So,” he said, beaming even bigger, if that’s possible. “Does your girlfriend go here?”

 

              Mikleo simply continued doing up his bag. “Ah, actually, I’m really sorry Sergei but I actually don’t have a girlfriend.” He pretended to laugh nervously, cocking his head gently as Sorey stood up out of his seat. Sergei flinched, suddenly looking wounded. “I kind of agreed with you because I didn’t think I’d ever see you again and it was sort of natural. I’m sorry, it was just for someone else I know.”

 

              _And that,_ Sorey thought. _Is what you call a smooth half-lie._

              Sergei recovered quickly, “Ah, that is fine! I understand.” Mikleo stood up, slinging his backpack over his shoulder.

 

              “Sergei do you want to eat lunch with us?” Sorey asked politely, giving Sergei his sweet genuine smile. “We have an extra seat at our table, I’m sure our friends wouldn’t mind.”

 

              “I would love that, if it would be no trouble,” Sergei said politely, but he was unable to keep the glee out of his voice. “Ah… Your name?”

 

              “I’m Sorey!”

 

              “I’m Mikleo,” said person added quickly.

 

              “Nice to meet you, Sorey and Mikleo!”

 

~

 

              “Oh look, Sorey brought the new kid.” Edna deadpanned helpfully. The entire table looked up, tilting their heads up. Rose, who usually sat next to Alisha, was sitting next to Lailah today. Sergei quickly slid into the empty seat, setting down his school bought lunch politely.

 

              Mikleo set down his own school lunch, having not had time to make himself lunch last night. Edna eyed him worriedly, opening her mouth, “Mikleo I-“

 

              “Oh Christ Edna for the last time, _its fine.”_ Whilst the first part of the sentence he succeeded in sounding annoyed, his voice faded to fond, emotion ridden gentleness for the last two words. Vibrating in his throat and making it come out ever so slightly shaky.

 

              Enda pursed her lips, but continued picking at her food anyways, sighing. Lailah looked between the two worriedly, and Sorey pretended he didn’t know what was going on. Because really, he didn’t.

 

              Alisha turned to Sergei, “They’re siblings.” She said. Sergei raised an eyebrow at this. And then Alisha began supplying Sergei with useful, basic information about the group in a similar fashion to what she had done with Sorey. Everyone looked around, apparently silently accepting that this person was now officially part of the friend group, which Alisha somehow seemed to be the leader of.

 

              Somewhere along the line Alisha turned back to face the group, “So.” She said, everyone seemed to fall silent at the simple word, like citizens falling silent at their ruler. “I was thinking we all could hang out tonight? That way Sergei could see what our hangouts are like, and we didn’t hang out very much over break.” There were some hums of agreement and some chatter.

 

“You guys can come over to my place,” Sorey piped up. Everyone turned to look at him, he shrugged. “We’ve never done that before right? My place isn’t huge or anything but it’s big enough.” Everyone shrugged and nodded, seeming to come to the agreement quite simply.

 

“Um,” Sergei said. Everyone turned to look at him, eyes boring into the newbie. “Can I have everyone’s contact information?” He held out his phone, and so they all began passing it around the table, putting their contacts into their new friend’s phone one by one.

 

~

 

              Mikleo walked home with Sorey as usual. Some of them drove to Sorey’s house, others drove home and then drove there. But, slowly but surely everyone filtered into Sorey’s living room.

 

              “The gangs all here!” Zaveid yelled as he finally burst into Sorey’s house, looking oddly smug.

 

              “Ah yes, welcome Zaveid.” Lailah said dully as Rose plopped her head onto her obviously-more-than-a-friend’s shoulder, nuzzling it briefly before continuing to scroll through her phone. “Nice of you to finally show up.” Lailah continued to deadpan. Zaveid was literally the only person on the planet Lailah could properly ignore, sass and be blunt to. That said a lot about Zaveid.

 

              “So…” Sergei said. “What now?”

 

              Alisha shrugged. “We talk, usually.” She tapped a finger on her chin. “Sorey? Do you have any video games?” Her eyes were sparkling when she turned towards him. Sorey laughed guiltily, rubbing the back of his neck.

 

              “Well, yes, but they’re all still packed somewhere.”

 

              “Ah, I see.” Alisha said, looking less enthusiastic than just a second ago, and gave Sorey a pout just for good measure.

 

              Mikleo got up quietly from where Sorey was, wandering out of the living room and slipping into where Sorey’s room was located. Sorey’s eyes followed him until he disappeared, wondering what he was doing.

 

              “Yanno, Sorey,” Zaveid said, stealing Mikleo’s seat from beside Sorey (Mikleo was not going to be amused by that). “We should go hunting for babes sometime.” A devils grin spread across his face as he nudged Sorey, who was struggling to continue smiling at this point. “Eh, eh? How about it.”

 

              “No… Thank you?” Sorey said nervously, not entirely sure how to respond to Zaveid when he got like this yet.

 

              “Awe c’mon, yanno, babes!” Zaveid said enthusiastically, as if that would help change Sorey’s mind. Sorey watched as Mikleo re-entered the room, drowning in one of Sorey’s gray zip-up hoodies. A smirk found itself growing on Sorey’s face, and he smothered it, looking back to Zaveid and blinking innocently.

 

              “Like that?” He said, nodding towards Mikleo.

 

              Zaveid’s face became one of frustration, “No! Not that kind of babe!” Lailah burst out laughing, Edna snorted, Rose laughed so hard she fell into Lailah’s lap, Sergei looked confused and Alisha smiled wryly.

 

              “Also, Mikleo, you still haven’t given me back that black hoodie.” Mikleo rolled his eyes, continuing to walk towards Sorey as if nothing had happened. “Or my gray sweatpants.”

 

              “You’re not getting either of them back.” Mikleo said casually, sending Zaveid a death glare for stealing his spot before he climbed over top of Zaveid, perching himself between Sorey and Zaveid’s heads and sitting on the back of the couch.

 

              “Oi, you two are pretty close, aren’t you?” Zaveid commented, glancing back and forth between Mikleo and Sorey. Mikleo scoffed and began playing with the hoodie’s zipper. “Yanno, stealing each other’s clothes and all. Pretty amazing that you guys have only known each other for a few months.” Mikleo looked up, tilting his head and seeming to ponder, his eyes switching to a vibrant blue in the light as they became unfocused in his thought.

 

              “Mm, seems like longer,” he said quietly. Sorey was tempted to put a hand on Mikleo’s thigh, which wasn’t too far from Sorey’s face, but he chose not to. Instead simply nodding.

 

              “So…” Sergei said awkwardly. “How long have all of you guys known each other?”

 

              Alisha finally pried her eyes off of the lovers. “Most of us have all known each other since last year. Sorey just met everyone this year though. Except me,” she smiled. “He met me over the summer.”

 

              “I see,” said Sergei, appearing to go into thought. “So I’m a bit behind, aren’t I?”

 

              “It’s fine!” Sorey piped up, flashing Sergei a ginormous smile. “Everyone here is really nice, you’ll fit in in no time!”

 

              Sergei beamed back, and Edna scoffed. “Pretty sure you can only say that because you’re the biggest social butterfly on the face of the planet.”

 

              “True,” Mikleo supplied. Sorey glared at them both, they but dutifully ignored it.

 

              “Dream crusher,” Sorey grumbled. He then reached out and shoved his lover, making him teeter on the edge of the couch.

 

              “Oi!” Mikleo yelled, before Sorey got the Devil’s Grin across his face. “Oh my god no,” Mikleo said, eyes widening. He move to swing his legs over the back of the couch and make his escape, but Sorey grabbed his legs and pulled him down into his lap quickly.

 

              “Sto-OPPPP,” Mikleo screeched as Sorey lifted up his shirt and began running his hands along Mikleo’s sides. “That tick- No, Sorey I ha-“ he burst into giggled again, leaning forward and screeching as Sorey moved to his stomach. Everyone was staring at the couple, never having seen Mikleo actually practically loose his mind before. Sorey stopped, only for practically a millisecond, but Mikleo took advantage of it. He flipped around, straddling Sorey’s lap and switched their positions, so that now Sorey was laughing his mind out and desperately attempting to push Mikleo off of him.

 

              “Disgusting,” Edna grumbled. Lailah only giggled sweetly, Rose looked slightly amused.

 

              “It’s amazing that they’ve only known each other for a couple of months and they already look so comfortable,” Alisha said. All eyes turned towards her and her slightly sad, distant expression. Lailah hummed softly.

 

              “Especially Mikleo. It’s not like he doesn’t like attention but…”

 

              “He’s weird about who it comes from,” Edna deadpanned, eyes still locked on the now out-of-breath boys. Mikleo was laying dramatically across Sorey’s lap and kicking Zaveid in the jaw for some comment he made.

             

              “I haven’t seen him be this more comfortable in his skin since…” Lailah trailed off, a sad expression finding itself on her sweet face.

 

              “If Sorey doesn’t screw this up then he can make him even more confident than she did.” Lailah started at Edna’s words, mouth falling agape. Alisha, Rose and Sorey all gave them confused looks, but the blondes explained no further.

 

~

 

              Alisha walked out of Sorey’s house feeling empty, and very lonely. Even if she had just been with her friends for several hours, it wasn’t the same. No amounts of friends could fill the giant gaping hole in her heart that Sorey and Mikleo had accidently left.

 

              She constantly felt herself regretting. She hadn’t made any moves on Sorey because she thought she had time, because she thought he liked her too, because she thought it would be easy. That they could be happy together and one day they would have a cliché adorable confession. How long had Sorey and Mikleo been together for without her noticing? When had she stopped having a chance?

 

              Had she ever had a chance?

 

              What could she have done to have a chance with him?

 

              “Alisha,” a firm hand rested on her shoulder, causing her to squeak and spin around. “You alright?” Alisha was immediately met with the dazzling blue eyes of her redhead friend, filled to the brim with concern.

 

              “A-Ah, yes I’m sorry!” She stuttered. Waving her hands in front of her face as if it would lessen the concern of her friend. “I just spaced out…” She trailed off, her expression softened into something a bit sad.

 

              “It’s about Sorey isn’t it?” Rose said seriously, her face turning into a serious frown. Alisha’s face paled, and her mouth hung open as she stared into the never-changing steady blue eyes. “What happened with Sorey?”

 

              “He…” Alishsa said quietly, rubbing her arms and looking down. “D-Didn’t do anything but-“ she bit her lip, wondering if this was an acceptable time to tell someone about Mikleo and Sorey’s relationship.

 

              “Does it have something to do with Mikleo?” Alisha’s eyes snapped up, widening like giant saucers. Rose sighed, backing up and rubbing the back of her neck exasperatedly. “Jee, I had a hunch but I wasn’t sure if the two of them knew themselves.”

 

              “Y-You know Sorey and Mikleo are lovers?” Alisha managed to stutter out. Rose snorted and shrugged.

 

              “Like I said, I had a hunch. It’s not like they were really trying to hide it.” Rose paused and then looked back to Alisha.

 

              “Are you jealous?”

 

              Alisha opened her mouth, ready to deny the statement, but then closed it. Because honestly, she didn’t really know. Her head was spinning too fast, she didn’t know what feelings were real, what were fake, and what actually mattered.

 

              “I-I don’t know,” she stuttered quietly, feeling her eyes burn yet again. “I’m happy for them, and I want both of them to be happy. They both me a lot to me but-“ she choked, and then covered her eyes with her hands as her throat began making ugly sobbing sounds, burning as if threatening the tears to hurry up and spill down her face. “ _Of course_ I wanted it to be me, not Mikleo.” She bit her lip, the selfish words pouring out of her mouth before she could think anything else. “What did Mikleo ever do to deserve Sorey?”

 

              Alisha gasped, immediately covering her mouth. “I-I didn’t mean that! I just…” She bit her lip, Rose stayed silent as her encouragement for Alisha to continue. “I tried so hard to make him notice me, I never even saw Mikleo do _anything._ Mikleo told me he didn’t even know when they fell in love with each other, how does that even work? How lucky is that?” She choked, jealousy burning at the back of her throat and licking flames in her stomach.

 

              “Alisha.” Rose said sharply, leaning into Alisha’s space. Alisha flinched, but tilted her chin high, refusing to be embarrassed. “Don’t you even think for a damn _second_ that what they have is luck.”

 

              Alisha felt dread settling in her stomach, regret, guilt, the licking flames being extinguished and creating an even more anguished feeling. Rose continued, “I don’t know all that much about either of them, but I know they’re both selfless idiots.” She snapped. Alisha paled significantly, suddenly feeling extremely small. “Those two have something, and it’s more than a crush. It’s deep and it runs through their veins and pierces their souls. I don’t believe in things like soulmates, or being born for someone else, but I know that Sorey probably works his ass off to make Mikleo happy, and Mikleo does everything in his power to return the favor twice fold.” She had her hands on her hips and was glaring at Alisha. She wasn’t particularly mad, not at Alisha at least, she was simply being blunt and informative. “Love isn’t some pretty fairy tale. I’m sure you’ve realized by now that it can hurt like hell. You probably think it’s just because Sorey broke your heart, but every relationship is like that, _every real relationship hurts._ ” Alisha flinched, squishing up her face in pain but continuing to look at her friend in the eyes. “If you want to have a little fun with a low-maintenance date or friends with benefits, I don’t care. Just don’t expect to have a long lasting, serious relationship that doesn’t hurt you at least a couple of times.” Rose finally backed away taking a long, deep breath. “Jeez Alisha, you should know by now nothing in life is simple.”

 

              Hot tears were spilling down Alisha’s face. Silent ones, she was no longer sobbing, she was no longer hurting, she felt nothing. Not even emptiness. Only acceptance, acceptance of the cold hard reality of the way this cruel world works. “I know,” she whispered, and the wind blew, pulling at her trail of tears.

 

              “Good.” Rose said, as she turned around and left, short uneven red strands whipping and tossing behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My poor child poor Alisha I'm so sorry also poor Mikleo and Sorey and Edna and Rose and everyone WHY ARE ALL MY CHILDREN SAD *wraps everyone up in a hug* stOP 
> 
> -Author who's own writing keeps stabbing her in the back


	13. And Everything Will Crumble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm updating again. Because I want to. I don't get how people update on actual schedules, you are magical my authors who actually have the ability to do that.

              Sorey hadn’t had any form of an anxiety attack in months. He hadn’t even had chest or gut pains. So _why_ was he sitting in the middle of history class panicking?

 

              Sorey had always liked history class, but it was one of the easiest classes to have a panic or anxiety attack in for him. It wasn’t like math or English, where his anger with the confusing assignments could often distract him. History class was storytelling when Mayvin was your teacher, and it gave you plenty of time to think, think, think, _think._

 

              Sorey got up, too quickly, and left the room. Not bothering to get his backpack as that would look suspicious. As he walked out the door he could feel the entire classroom’s eyes and Mayvin’s on his back. The only ones who’s bothered him were Mikleo’s.

 

~

 

              Mikleo began tapping his pencil on his desk nervously. Sorey had been bouncing his knee the entire class, biting his lip, playing with his fingers, he had obviously been nervous. So when Sorey suddenly bolted out of the room about two minutes before class ended, it obviously scared Mikleo half to death.

 

              Mikleo forced himself to calm down. Taking a deep breath and beginning to subconsciously rub his thumb over a long fingernail. It would be fine, logic said Sorey would be fine until class ended. That didn’t stop the nerves from fluttering in his sternum and spreading like fire throughout his entire chest. He gnawed on his lower lip. _Please end, please just end._

 

              He had to make sure Sorey was okay.

 

              And if he wasn’t okay, he had to help him.

 

              Worry pulsed through his chest so deeply and hard he physically flinched. He was slightly aware that people in class kept glancing at him, considering he was usually the only one (besides Sergei apparently) who sat quietly until the bell rung. Mayvin kept sending him nervous glances too.

 

              The bell rung and Mikleo nearly jumped out of his seat. He grabbed his notebooks, putting them in his backpack in no particular order for once. He threw it over his shoulder and walked over to Sorey’s desk, shoving his notebooks in his backpack with even less care.

 

              He vaguely heard Sergei call his name, but he paced out of class anyway, in a controlled manner of course (unlike Sorey).  He threw his backpack in his locker and put Sorey’s backpack on a hook near it, not remembering what Sorey’s exact locker number was, and then took off. Shoving through people as he desperately tried to reach the door to the roof.

 

              Why he was going to the roof, Mikleo had no idea. But Mikleo was panicking enough to not overthink things and instead allow some form of instinct to take over, and he found his feet blindly taking him to his own sanctuary, and where he hoped Sorey had decided was a safe place too.

 

              His feet echoed tauntingly throughout the empty stairwell as he sprinted up the stairs. The mettle railing felt cold as he trailed his fingers subconsciously along it, running too fast to use it for any actual support.

 

              He practically fell forward when the stairs ended. He stopped, taking a moment to catch his breath. He allowed his eyes to flutter closed, tilting his head up towards the ceiling and taking a deep breath. He opened them again, and walked towards the door to the roof with organized purpose.

 

              It had been cloudy all day, but it seemed to be refusing to even let down a single drop of rain. The humid, dreary atmosphere at least helped calm Mikleo’s raging nerves somewhat. He dropped his eyes down away from the sky, allowing them to roam the area. His heart immediately dropped when he saw a fluff of brunette.

 

              He fought the desperate urge to sprint towards his shaking lover. Sorey was curled up, his head buried in his knees and his shoulders shaking. Mikleo bit his lip, already feeling overwhelming and sickening guilt and worry for leaving him like this for even five minutes. He took another breath, walking forward with quiet, gentle movements as not to scare him.

 

              Mikleo touched the back of Sorey’s head gently, feeling his beloved jerk underneath him as he stroked his thumb through the messy hair just once. “Sorey,” he whispered gently. Said person slowly lifted their head, frightened green eyes looking into Mikleo’s own violet ones.

 

              “I’m sorry I’m late,” he said, struggling to keep his voice steady as nausea ripped through him at the sad look in Sorey’s eye. He shifted around to the front of Sorey, Sorey eyeing him carefully the entire time. Mikleo placed his hands on Sorey’s face, cradling his lover’s face gently. “What’s wrong?”

 

              “I don’t k-know,” Sorey croaked, biting his lip. “I-I was just sitting there and t-then-“ he took a rattling breath, huffing up his cheeks and then releasing as an attempt to calm down. Instead he looked into Mikleo with dancing, fearful eyes. It was much more effective than words.

 

              “I’m sorry,” Mikleo repeated again. He began to move his thumb lovingly across Sorey’s cheek, caressing his face in a soothing manner. Sorey shook his head ever so slightly, as not to disturb Mikleo’s hands. Mikleo smiled weakly, and slipped himself in-between Sorey’s legs, settling his forehead onto Sorey’s own.

 

              He felt Sorey sigh underneath of him and he flipped one of his hands, beginning to run the back of his hand across Sorey’s cheek instead. “What can I do to help?”

 

              Mikleo vaguely heard the roof door open and close, but was quickly distracted with a squeak of surprise and Sorey suddenly pulled him closer, wrapping his arms around Mikleo desperately and burying his face into his neck. Mikleo stiffened for a moment, stunned, before relaxing into Sorey’s hold and sliding a hand to Sorey’s uneven heart, slowing and speeding up inconsistently with anxiety. He rested his own nose on Sorey’s shoulder, and took a breath, allowing Sorey to pull him even closer, grip him even tighter.

 

              “I love you.”

 

              It took Mikleo a moment to register where the surprisingly sure words came from. Mikleo’s eyes flickered open in surprise, and he felt Sorey shift his knees in order to press Mikleo even closer. Mikleo sighed, pretending to be exasperated.

 

              “I know,” he replied softly. There was a comfortable pause. “I love you too.” His voice trembled and he buried his nose deeper into Sorey’s shoulder, moving his hand from Sorey’s heart to run it down Sorey’s sternum soothingly, as if he could make the chest pains go away with the single motion.

 

              Mikleo heard steps and he stiffened, and Sorey seemed to still beside him too. Mikleo then heard the door open, and Sorey lifted his head from his spot in Mikleo’s shoulder. The door banged behind the person, and he felt Sorey begin to shake again, even harder now.

 

              “That was Alisha…” Sorey paused for a moment, mouth hanging open. Then he scrambled, making a desperate attempt to stand up and follow her. Mikleo moved faster and with far more coordination, digging his knee into Sorey’s side and causing him to yelp, stopping his rocking back to stand.

 

              “No.” Mikleo said firmly, lifting his head from Sorey’s shoulder and staring at him straight in the face. Sorey opened his mouth, but Mikleo placed a finger overtop of his lips, forcing his face to remain firm and not become soft or fond. “This is Alisha’s problem. If you intervene now it’s going to make things worse. Worry about yourself.”

 

              Sorey looked at Mikleo sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck and looking down. Mikleo sighed again, “Jee.” He groaned, putting his knees underneath of himself whilst still remaining on top of his lovers legs, and pulling up Sorey’s face with his hands.

 

              Mikleo lifted himself up just enough to pull Sorey’s bangs back and press a gentle kiss to his forehead. He sat still, letting it linger and choosing to ignore Sorey’s adorable gasp underneath of him before pulling away. He tilted Sorey’s face even further upwards, pressing their noises together and staring straight into the unsure green eyes.

 

              “It’ll all be okay, I promise.”

 

~

 

              Alisha stopped halfway down the stairwell.

 

              Her back hit the cold wall hard as she slid down, out of breath and an emotional mess.

 

              She felt sick. She had rushed around the school because Mikleo and Sorey hadn’t shown up for lunch. _She was worried,_ she had convinced herself. In reality she probably just didn’t want to leave the two alone, in selfish fear of what they would do.

 

              And so when she had arrived Mikleo had had their foreheads pressed together. Sorey was clearly upset, shaken, nervous. And Mikleo was looking at him with the most fond, determined and loving expression she had ever seen in her entire life.

 

              What hurt the most is that Sorey’s expression reflected with hope when he stared into Mikleo’s own. How although Sorey seemed so unsure, so nervous, so afraid he had said that he loved Mikleo so surely. And how steady, stable and calm Mikleo’s voice had trembled when he had said he loved him too.

 

              _And that he knew._

Like Sorey loving him was the most natural thing in the world.

 

              It hurt because she was suddenly aware of what she should’ve done to have a chance. She should’ve tried to understand Sorey, she should of always put him first like Mikleo did, never casted him aside thinking “I have time” or “this will be easy”. She should’ve wanted the challenge, accepted the challenge like she did for everything else and loved him with all of her heart and threw it all away. Like Mikleo did. Even though Mikleo was the most careful person in the world, especially when it came to his own and other’s hearts.

 

              Because when Mikleo leaned his head against Sorey and stared into his eyes, even Alisha could see, even though their expression were so different, that they saw the same thing.

 

              They looked at each other and saw the world.

 

~

 

              “Oh you’re back!” Sergei called kindly, beaming at Alisha. Alisha felt a little warmer at the token of kindness, so she smiled a bit, settling down beside him, Rose once again sitting beside Lailah. He could at her confusedly, “Did you not find them?”

 

              “No,” Alisha responded quietly, beginning to unpack her lunch. “I did. They’re on the roof.”

 

              Sergei furrowed his brows, tilting his head slightly. “So… Why aren’t they here?”

 

              Alisha thought for a moment on how to respond to that. “Mikleo… Looked like he was comforting Sorey. I did not want to interfere.”

 

              Sergei looked taken aback, and then seemed to prepare to stand. “Well if he’s being comforted than he needs help doesn’t he? We should go get him!”

 

              Rose sighed from beside Lailah, “Nah. Mikleo’s got it. More of us would probably just stress him out more.”

 

              Most of lunch passed. Alisha was actually starting to get genuinely worried, Sergei kept jogging his leg under the table and Lailah looked like she was either about to burst into tears or scour the Earth to find them and help them. Probably both.

 

              Everyone turned sharply as a chair pulled out beside them, thoroughly surprised by the sudden presence of Mikleo whose approach they hadn’t noticed.

 

               “Mikleo where’s-“

 

              Sorey pulled up the chair next to Mikleo, looking absolutely exhausted. He flopped down and when he looked up, his eyes were rimmed with red and whilst his cheeks were no longer puffy, it was clear that they once had been.

 

              “Dude are you okay?” Zaveid asked, genuine concern laced underneath his voice. Sorey gave him a weak smile nodding.

 

              “Yeah I’ll be fine. Sorry for making you worry- owe!” He yelped as Mikleo batted him over the head, sending his lover a glare.

 

              “If I hear you say sorry one more time today, for whatever reason it may be, I swear to god.” His voice was sharp, but when he looked up his expression was soft and worried. Sorey sighed, understanding that the words came out of concern, not impatience or anger.

 

              “Sor-“ he clamped his mouth shut, realizing his almost mistake. Mikleo snorted and giggled lightly, and Sorey managed to crack a smile. Everyone else at the table kept looking back in forth at each other, both confused and worried.

 

~

 

              As they walked home together Sorey hummed happily. Mikleo smiled to himself, enjoying the gentle tune far more than the crying and sobbing and desperate apologizing from earlier.

 

              He bumped their hips together playfully, “Can I spend the night?”

 

              Sorey looked down at him, appearing a bit confused. “Of course but… Isn’t this the last night Eizen is home?”

 

              “Yes, that’s exactly why I want to stay the night.” Now Sorey looked both confused and concerned. Mikleo sighed, giving him a small smile, “I usually leave him and Edna alone the night before he leaves.”

 

              Sorey turned back forward, eyebrows now even further creased with concern. “You do realize you’re part of the family too, right?” The wind blew. Sorey’s brown hair tossed and turned gently in the wind. Mikleo found himself temporarily mesmerized, watching it until the wind died down.

 

              “Of course.” He replied turning forward. “But…” He pursed his lips, creating a thing white line. He looked down, allowing his white eyelashes to flutter shut briefly before he stopped. He heard Sorey’s footsteps still beside him, and then walk forward to stand in front of him.

 

              Mikleo let his eyes open partly. His vision partially obscured by his lashes as his eyes struggled to focus properly on Sorey’s boots. “Eizen is Edna’s everything.” He looked up into Sorey’s eyes intently, firmly, positive sure and steady. “Eizen means as much to Edna as you mean to me,” he said quietly, watching Sorey’s green eyes widen and change in front of his own eyes. “In a very different way, of course. But they’re each other’s everything.” The wind blew again, and Mikleo let his white hair blow across his face, and his bangs toss in the strong wind. The air smelled like rain, even though it had been stubbornly refusing to do so all day.

 

              It was cold out. The wind should’ve felt cold, but it didn’t.

 

              Mikleo blinked, his deep amethyst eyes switching to look to the side wistfully. “I don’t like to say goodbye to him.” He said quietly. “Edna doesn’t either.”

 

              “It’s like he’s slipping through our fingers, so we desperately don’t say goodbye so he has to come back.”

 

              He looked up at Sorey again, unexplainable complex emotions written in his vision. He opened his mouth, closed it opened it again, shut it and bit his lip. Finally he took a shaky breath, his face desperate and sad, like a person who had lost everything and then lost it again. “Because he has to come back.”

 

              His voice shook like leaf, and if you don’t know what desperation sounds like in someone’s throat, it sounds broken.

 

              Mikleo bit his lip, letting out a small, sad laugh and shut his eyes. “Sorry, this went a totally different direction from where I meant for it to go.”

 

              Sorey gave him a sad smile before leaning down to his eyelevel, looking at his lover’s watery eyes that kept threatening to spill over intently. He shut his own eyes, backing away from Mikleo before threading his hand through the silky white bangs, pulling them back and forcing him to tilt his head a bit further backwards.

 

              He pressed his warm lips against Mikleo’s cool forehead, feeling the boy beginning to tremble underneath of him. When Sorey spoke, his voice was soft and comforting, not sure and firm like Mikleo’s.

 

              “It’ll all be okay, I promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you thought everything was going to get slowly better now, you were wrong ::)))))))
> 
> On another note, I was reading through some old chapters and cringing really hard. POV was everywhere, I couldn't write worth a damn, grammar was hard. To those of you who read through those chapters and are here now, bless your soul, you are amazing.
> 
> So now I'm going to go through and fix those chapters before I throw up.


	14. Unraveled String, Unraveled Mind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All of the people who read this are so lovely I love all of you I appreciate all of you thank you.
> 
> If there are any major errors (or little ones) please point them out I'll love you forever I really don't mind

              Sorey awoke groggily the next morning. His head was pounding, and his lungs felt like slush. As he went to take in a breath a bubble caught in his throat, and despite being an inhumanely energetic person in the morning, currently didn’t feel like moving any time in the near future.

 

              He got up anyway, dragging himself out of bed tiredly. He glared out the now empty bed in remembrance that Mikleo had gone to sleep with him last night. Why did his lover have to be so nice and wake up and make him breakfast? He just wanted to cuddle.

 

              He trudged out of the room, not bothering to go into the bathroom yet and make himself look presentable. Instead, he fumbled into the kitchen, his head spinning.

 

               “Are you alright?” Sorey blinked, trying to fix his spinning head and squinting in attempt to focus on the boy in front of him. Mikleo reached up, placing an unbearably cold hand on his forehead and pushing his soft bangs out of his face. Sorey flinched, and then leaned into the simple touch ever-so-slightly.

 

              “You’re really hot,” Mikleo grumbled, mostly to himself. He stepped back, his eyebrows furrowed in both concern and thought.

 

              Sorey plastered a smile onto his face, raising his head up and putting his hands on his hips with bravado, “I’m fine, I’m fine-“ he dissolved into a coughing fit.

 

              Mikleo stepped towards him again, placing his hands on his own hips and tilting his head up towards Sorey with no lack of authority. “No, you’re not fine.” He said firmly. “In fact,” he mumbled. “You’ve been pushing yourself pretty hard lately, haven’t you? You shouldn’t go to school, especially if you’re going to cough and wobble around like that.” Now Mikleo was bouncing on his heels in chewing his nail. His eyes were narrowed no longer in worry, but pure distress. Sorey was surprised by this, and he cocked his head and furrowed his brown eyebrows, then opening his mouth in order to comfort the boy. He was promptly cut off.

 

              “But I have to be with Edna today so I can’t take care of you,” Mikleo began again rubbing his forehead with his thumb, shifting on his feet and trying to formulate a logical plain in his overdriven and tired brain.

 

              “Mikleo, it’s fine.” Sorey said softly, placing his hands on his lover’s fine shoulders. Mikleo’s head snapped up, looking ready to protest. “I’ll stay home. Zenerus is coming home this afternoon, too!” He smiled. He watched a small amount of Mikleo’s panic dissipate. “You don’t have to worry about me, okay?” He smiled.

 

              “O-Okay…” Mikleo stuttered. But his brain would not settle, he was already in panic mode. He began bouncing on his heals again. Sorey furrowed his brows again, gripping Mikleo’s shoulders a bit tighter. He’d seen the boy be frantic, hurried, and overthink but he’d never seen Mikleo looked down right panicked and afraid.

 

              It was a bit scary.

 

              “You said you had to be with Edna, is something wrong?”

 

              “W-Well…” Mikleo stuttered, now rocking on his heels in thought instead of bouncing. He was refusing to make eye contact with Sorey, something rare, and instead choosing to look to the side and bite his nail. “Yes? I mean… C-Can we talk about this later? I kind of need to hurry…” He grumbled. And then suddenly his face lit up. “Ah! I did make you breakfast. You don’t feel nauseous do you?” Some of Mikleo’s composition seemed to be regained, and Sorey watched as Mikleo plastered a mildly concerned expression onto himself.

 

              “Nope!” Sorey said cheerfully, finally letting his hands drop from his lover’s shoulders. He certainly wasn’t as starved as he usually was in the morning, but he was perfectly up for Mikleo’s cooking. He wandered over to the counter, where a slice of French toast was waiting. Mikleo bustled around him quickly, grabbing for his light jacket for the oddly warm weather.

 

              “Okay, bye! Please take care of yourself if you move out of bed I’m not making you any sweets for a solid month,” he called, his words hurried as he rushed out the door. Sorey blinked at where the pale figure had been just a second before.

 

              _An entire month…?_

 

~

 

              Mikleo burst into the front door of his house. He stopped abruptly.

 

              Everything was so quiet.

 

              Too quiet.

 

              He shut the door gently behind him, slipping off casual boots and putting them neatly against the wall.

 

              “Edna,” he called out quietly. He saw a hand wave from overtop the couch, and his lips twitched with a sad smile. He walked up to the couch, footsteps silent, and yet Edna could tell exactly where he was every step of the way.

 

              “Can I change really quick?” He sad gently. It was not pity, Mikleo was not stupid, and he knew most people didn’t like being pitied. And the people who did were usually people he stayed away from.

 

              Edna nodded dully in response, and Mikleo spun on the balls of his feet, veering to the right as he made his way up the staircase.

 

              The staircase had always been unnecessarily long, the ceilings in their house high. Too high, too big for two people and the occasional third.

 

              The occasional third no longer.

 

              _“He’s not coming back.”_ He flinched in remembrance of Edna’s dead voice on the other side of the line this morning. She had called him late at night, and Mikleo, constantly having his phone on silent, hadn’t heard a thing. The annoying vibrating had apparently not been enough to wake him up.

 

              _“Why?”_ He had replied simply. Out of instinct, out of the need to say something more than looking for a simple answer.

             

              _“He said goodbye.”_

And Mikleo had believed Edna, because somewhere deep down inside, he had known this would be their last Christmas with their brother.

 

              And so once again Mikleo felt someone tug at the carefully tied strings, a simple movement, a gentle pull.

 

              And everything began to unravel.

 

~

 

              Rose watched as Alisha babbled with panic.

 

              Rose hated seeing her friend like this. She had been like this ever since she had heard the news about Sorey and Mikleo. Rose didn’t understand how the girl couldn’t up and move on. Hurry up, get over it, find someone new.

 

              Then again, maybe Rose had just done that too many times.

 

              She furrowed her eyebrows for a second, a thought flashing through her head, protruding her mind.

 

              _Would I be able to move on if Lailah left?_

She stopped, furrowing her red-tinted eyebrows. She was no longer listening to her friend babbling, but instead concentrating on this question, partially in hopes of understanding the way her friend was feeling.

 

              The first thought that ran through her head was: That would never happen. Rose considered it carefully, deciding that no, that wouldn’t happen, and if it did it would be on good terms with mutual understanding.

 

              After all, her and Lailah’s relationship wasn’t like any she had ever experienced. It wasn’t typical, at all. It wasn’t romantic, but it wasn’t friendship either. It wasn’t platonic, and yet it wasn’t pushy and needy. It required much, much communication. Rose knew all of that wouldn’t unravel, and her mind, unable to offer her anything but the truth, couldn’t ever imagine feeling the way Alisha did.

 

              Rose tapped her fingers on her thigh, mind now on Lailah.

 

              She remembered standing on the porch of Lailah’s house. It was a little cottage like thing, small and impeccably neat and beautiful. It was farther out in the city where there was some gorgeous scenery, and she had a little garden in her front yard and a small, well cared for yard with a little willow tree, which always had beautiful pink and red flowers nestled around it, in the back.

 

              “Rose,” Lailah had said, gently and lightly. Her voice always sounded like the way she carried and presented herself in other ways. Everything about Lailah fit. Everything about Lailah was beautiful and graceful. “What is our relationship, currently?”

 

              Rose, was unperturbed by this question. She continued staring straight ahead, not bothering to look at the unearthly female beside her. “Hmm… Not sure, what would you want it to be?”

 

              Lailah looked ahead. “I want it to be many things, but most importantly I want you to know I don’t want it to be romantic.” Rose looked at Lailah with a bit of surprise, she tilted her head. “I don’t want it to be friendship either.”

 

              Rose hummed, staring ahead. “Sexual?”

 

              Lailah blushed, “Oh my!” She paused. “Not right now. Perhaps when we’re older, a bit.”

 

              “Kissing fine?” Rose asked looking at Lailah with a fond, gentle smile, that only Lailah ever saw. It was not goofy, like usual, but appreciative with a hint of respect.

 

              “Why, I think kissing would be lovely.” Lailah’s eyes twinkled a bit.

 

              So Rose had pulled her in and kissed her.

 

              Later Rose had casually asked Lailah some questions about her sexuality, just to put a perspective on things.

 

              Lailah told her she was grayromantic, so while she could feel romantic attraction on a rare occasion, it wasn’t common, and generally didn’t last. Lailah had made a point of telling Rose that whilst she didn’t think of her romantically it didn’t mean her she loved her any less, simply loved her differently.

 

              Rose had told her she that she already knew that, she was Lailah, of course she loved Rose dearly.

 

              Lailah had chuckled and smiled.

 

              Rose was smiling fondly at the memory when Alisha snapped in front of her face, jerking her out of her own thoughts. “R-Rose, are you paying attention?”

 

              “No, what? I’m sorry.” Rose deadpanned, looking back to a confused looking Alisha.

 

              “I said neither Edna, Mikleo nor Sorey are here today.” Rose hummed in response, unconcerned. They were standing against their old green lockers. It was break, and people were milling the halls, chattering, grabbing a snack.

 

              “Isn’t that weird? Do you think there’s a virus going around or something?” Rose shrugged, once again not particularly concerned.

 

              “Not unlikely. I mean, Christmas break did just end.”

 

              Alisha nodded and hummed, but Rose stilled hated the foreign, anxious expression on Alisha’s face.

 

              She wanted to rip it off and put her old confident and naïve one back on.

 

~

 

              Edna watched as Mikleo floated back down the stairs. He was wearing shorts and drowning in one of Sorey’s hoodies. His hair was dripping, so he had taken a shower. He was wearing his rarely seen lilac glasses. Most people didn’t even realize he wore contacts. In reality, he was practically blind without them. It would be surprising if he didn’t have any eye problems though, considering he was albino and their eyes always tended to be weak.

 

              Even if they were startlingly beautiful.

 

              Mikleo walked quietly into the kitchen, not in a rush. It was only 10:00, they had plenty of time to talk this over.

 

              She heard the familiar sound of running water and the hollow noise of a kettle being filled.

 

              The stove clicked, Mikleo yelped and swore in Japanese. Edna snorted, barely holding back a chuckle. She could hear the exploding flames from in here.

 

              “I swear, this stove is a demon!” He yelled from the ginormous kitchen, voice ringing out in the open concept house, nothing but half of a thin wall standing in-between the living room and the kitchen.

 

              “Uh-huh.” Edna grumbled. Their stove tended to explode with flames if you didn’t turn the dial just right. Eizen always managed to do it correctly, but it wasn’t uncommon for Mikleo to curse, grumble or yell at 1:00 in the morning due to Demon Stove.

 

              Mikleo had never liked fire, even before it almost consumed him. And took away the only thing he had loved.

 

              Edna’s frown deepened.

 

              Mikleo floated back into the living room, sitting down lightly on the couch.

 

              “He’s really not coming back, huh?” He said softly. He was looking up at the high ceiling, but his eyes weren’t focused on it. His hands were tucked gently in-between his legs.

 

              “Fucking idiot.” Edna growled. The teapot began to whistle, and Mikleo got up, drifting around the coffee table as he made his way back to the kitchen, only to make his way back out with two scalding hot cups of tea in his hand a moment later, and an entire bowl of sugar, for Edna.

 

              He settled back down in his spot, stroking his thumb over the cup absentmindedly. Only then did Edna notice that just his thumbs were painted with a pretty deep blue nail polish. A smile tugged at the corner of Edna’s lips, it really was a pretty blue, it looked even prettier on him.

 

              Not that she would ever admit that.

             

              “It’s so empty.” Mikleo breathed. His hands were trembling.

 

              “Mm,” Edna replied, pouring nearly the whole bowl of sugar into her mug, which was just about as big as her head.

 

              “He’s such a jerk.” Edna said hollowly. “So selfish.” She grumbled. Pulling her knees up to herself protectively.

 

              Silence lapsed. Mikleo neither accepted nor denied the statement. Something inside of Edna knew Mikleo was waiting for her to continue, to break, to yell and be angry and maybe even cry. So she made him wait. Wait a little while until she felt the anger burning and bubbling in her chest and the tears burning at her eyes and wanted to crush the cup in her hands.

 

              “Why,” she sobbed. “He did _so much._ He acted like he cared. He told me he would always be there for me so when…” She choked. “When did that change?”  

 

              Mikleo’s eyes were closed. Silent tears were rolling down his face. He could feel Edna shaking angrily beside him, feel the disappointment rolling off of her in waves. Mikleo however, was not angry. He felt numb, and oddly calm. Empty.

 

              “And on that note,” she spat. “If he was going to leave, why the hell would he take you in, dammit!” Edna grit her teeth, her eyes burning horribly but refusing to spill tears. “When you needed him, when I needed him, he _left.”_ Her voice trembled. “He always…”

 

              Silence lapsed once again. Mikleo waited patiently. Patience was one of the few things Mikleo was honestly proud of.

 

              “He always,” she breathed out. “Said our parents just left. They weren’t particularly bad people, they just didn’t want the burden of children. They hadn’t realized what they were getting into, they wanted to start over, so they were a bit selfish. So they left.” Her words were hollow despite the meaning behind them. Mikleo pursed his lips, squeezing his eyes tighter.

 

              Once again, silence.

 

              “You won’t leave, right?” Mikleo whispered. Edna whipped around to stare at the white haired boy. His face was generally calm, but tears kept trailing down it. His opened eyes were unfocused, and his lips were now parted with a slack jaw, as if he had given up. His hands were gripping his cup of tea as if it was all that was left in the world.

 

              “Of course not, idiot.” She grumbled, knocking him on the back of the head with her hand, her umbrella for once out of sight. That within itself could give you a good idea of her mental state.

 

              “I’m tired.” He simply whispered back in reply, hanging his head and taking and setting down his untouched tea. Edna took a huge gulp of hers, the hot liquid burning her tongue and continuing down to scald her throat.

 

              “I know.” She said simply, standing. She grabbed Mikleo’s hand, dragging him up the stairs. The boy stumble behind her like a doll being dragged by a kid.

 

              It wasn’t the first time this had happened. It was, however, the first time in a very long time.

 

              Not to mention, she used to drag him to Eizen’s bed.

 

              Not hers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ┻━┻ ︵ ¯\\(ツ)/¯ ︵ ┻━┻
> 
> Whoops
> 
> Ya'll should've seen that coming.


	15. Why I'm Here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes I'm updating again I just wanted to write fluff stfu

The fact that it was easier for Sorey to convince Gramps that he was well enough to go to school than Mikleo, said a lot about Mikleo’s personality. Considering Gramps was quite stubborn himself. In his own way.

 

His head still hurt a bit, but he figured he was well enough that he could take some notes and at least listen a bit in class. He had a little plastic thing of tissues stuffed into his backpack, curtsey of Gramps.

 

Gramps really, wasn’t anything like Mikleo. He wasn’t anything near a worrier, after all, he had literally sent Sorey away from his longtime home for the sake of experience. He took care of you when you needed it, didn’t worry about it when you didn’t. But he was always thoughtful, and enjoyed doing little things to help.

 

The school day passed slowly. Sorey’s headache worsened throughout the day, and by the time History came around it was throbbing terribly. He should’ve stayed home. Mikleo had texted him last night saying that if he went to school tomorrow he would regret it. Mikleo was always right, Sorey should just accept this by now.

 

But Sorey had been waiting to see Mikleo all day. With the hurried panicked manner that Mikleo had left his house in and with the fact that Edna needed help, so much that Mikleo had skipped school, Sorey was slightly worried.

 

When Sorey entered the classroom, Mikleo was already in his seat. Sergei was leaning over him talking enthusiastically whilst Mikleo nodded his head, giving him a weak, pitiful smile. Sorey frowned, settling his backpack by his seat and turning around to face Mikleo, who hadn’t even looked at him yet.

 

He was horribly pale. Mikleo was obviously naturally pale, but this was different. His skin was unhealthy looking and translucent and his face lacked it’s usually slightly tinted color. His eyes, which had just flickered open were distant and glazed. Lacking their usual intelligence and curiosity. To the common eye he looked fairly put together, but to Sorey his hair was far messier than normal and the boy had huge eye bags under his eyes. Sorey frowned, wondering if those had always been there.

 

I mean, the boy did own makeup.

 

The bell rung and Sergei left, returning to his own seat. Sorey watched Mikleo visibly relax, moving to rest his chin in his hand.

 

Sorey tapped his thigh, and the poor thing nearly jumped out of his seat, whipping his head around towards Sorey.

 

“You alright?” Sorey mouthed without speaking. Mikleo only gave him a worried look, biting his lip before turning forward again.

 

Sorey frowned. That was definitely a “no”.

 

His head continued to throb as class continued on, but he chose to ignore it. It wasn’t so awful he couldn’t force himself to concentrate, and also, Mikleo looked like he was slowly fading.

 

They were only 1/3s of the way through class when Mikleo got up, scooching his chair out quietly. Some people looked towards him, but given the calm manner in which he left everyone just assumed he was going to the restroom or the like and ignored it. Sorey knew better, and only waited a couple seconds before getting up and hurrying after him, exiting the room before Mayvin could tell him to wait until Mikleo came back.

 

He shut the door, spinning around and trying to spot a head of silvery hair. He found it quickly. Mikleo was to Sorey’s left, leaning heavily on the cold painted stone wall. Mikleo vaguely heard footsteps run up behind him, but his brain was too fuzzy to really process the meaning. He couldn’t breathe properly and everything kept going in and out of focus. He legs were weak, and his brain couldn’t process anything around him.

 

“Mikleo!” Mikleo jerked, staring up into green eyes and stumbling backwards, almost falling without the support of the wall.

 

“Whoa!” Sorey yelped, grabbing his lover’s shoulders in order to hold him upright. “Are you okay?”

 

Dumb question.

 

“I’m tired,” Mikleo whimpered. The last thing he felt were his knees giving out underneath him, and falling into the warmth of his beloved’s chest.

 

~

 

              Uno nearly jumped out of his seat as Sorey burst into the nurse’s office. He stared at Sorey, his eyes taking in Sorey’s pained expression and the tiny limp boy in his arms.

 

              “He blacked out.” Sorey explained, walking over to the couch and settling Mikleo down on it. Uno’s eyes followed him all the way, watching Sorey with mild curiosity as he stood back up. “I think he’s overworked.” The boy’s eyebrows were furrowed worryingly, and his gaze towards Uno was begging.

 

              “Mm,” Uno stood. “I’ll check him over and then have his parents pick him up then.”

 

              “Umm… Uno,” Sorey smiled sheepishly. “Mikleo doesn’t have parents.”

 

              Uno paused, “Who’s his guardian then?”

 

              “Uh… He actually just left Ladylake yesterday. His sister is home but I don’t think she’s feeling well…” Sorey paused, then rubbed at the back of his neck. “I-I could take him home. I technically wasn’t supposed to go to school today anyway… I’m kind of sick and my head hurts, I might have come here even if he hadn’t blacked out.”

 

              Uno paused. Sorey was obviously lying, but he quickly deducted that he was lying about coming here, not about being sick. Because Sorey did look tired, and Uno knew his Grandfather had called him in sick yesterday. Not to mention the stupid boy never took care of himself.

 

              “I suppose that’s alright,” Uno shrugged, not really a nitpicker. “Why don’t you go get you and his stuff and tell the teacher of whatever class you were in that you’re leaving?”

 

~

 

              Before Sorey departed Mikleo woke up. He was tired and dizzy and clutzy, and as Sorey and Mikleo stumbled out of the building Uno had told them if Mikleo’s condition got any worse, to take him to the hospital (“just incase”).

 

              That was scary.

 

              They were currently in the car, driving to Mikleo’s home. Mikleo had already passed out in the car seat, and Sorey had sent out a text to the group chat (which Sergei had recently been added to) that neither of them were feeling well and that they were going home, and was now calling Edna.

 

              “What?” Came the snappy voice from the other end of the line.

 

              “Mikleo collapsed in the hallway. He doesn’t look so good, so I’m taking him home since I’m not feeling so well myself.” Silence on the other end of the line.

 

              “Idiot.” She grumbled, and then hung up. Sorey came to a halt at the stoplight, blinking at the phone in disbelief.

 

              Mikleo stirred again as he excelled forward, groaning as his glazed, deep amethyst eyes flickered upwards to look at Sorey from his spot on the console.

 

              “Sorey…?

 

              “Go back to sleep Love.” Sorey said softly, moving his free hand into his silver hair. Mikleo wasn’t able to hang onto conscious much longer anyway, his body going limp all of thirty seconds later.

 

~

 

              “Stay for as long as you like,” was all Edna said when Sorey entered her house with Mikleo on his back and carrying two backpacks. She then walked away, holding a mug which was all too big for her tiny body.

 

              Sorey somehow made it up the stairs, immediately dropping their backpacks once he was in Mikleo’s room. They made a loud thud, presumably caused by the ~~bricks~~ heavy textbooks. Sorey simply prayed he hadn’t ruined any of the contents.

 

              Sorey shifted Mikleo’s weight on his back, walking across his room to settle him down on his bed, sliding off Mikleo’s shoes and tucking him gently under the covers.

 

              He paused for a moment, watching as Mikleo immediately shifted to lay sideways, pulling his arms to his chest as if he was used to holding something in his sleep. Pieces of his slightly mused hair was sticking to his soft lips, loose strands fluttered as he breathed softly. Sorey’s motivation to do homework while Mikleo slept all but dissipates, leaving him grabbing his now buzzing phone in realization that it was probably now lunch time and everyone had seen is text

 

              _Rose 12:03_

_Well damn_

_Rose 12:03_

_Well, Mikleo did look pretty bad in Science today._

Of course Rose had noticed.

 

              _Lailah 12:04_

_Oh my! I hope you two feel better. Please take care of yourselves, make sure to get lots of sleep and eat something even if you feel nauseous. If you need any medicine I have some and I’d be happy to help with anything. Call me if you need help!_

He giggled. He had told them that they didn’t _feel well,_ not, that they were dying. But Lailah’s message made him smile all the same. The phone began vibrating consistently in his hand, and he looked down, his smile disappearing into pursed lips and a tight twist in his chest.

 

              _Alisha Diphda… Calling_

 

              _“Sorey! Are you two alright?”_

 

              Sorey laughed at the genuinely panicked tone. Alisha really was sweet, there was a reason why he had once liked her as more than a friend. “Yes, yes. We’re fine.”

 

              _“A-Ah, I see. Is there a virus going around? Edna is sick too, isn’t she?”_

Sore paused, “Well…” He sighed, “She didn’t seem sick when I came in the house.” A small squeak from the other end of the line. “And Mikleo’s well…” He trailed off. “I don’t really know what’s wrong. But he’s not well. He’s sleeping right now, actually.”

 

              Alisha, from the other end of the line could hear shifting, and then she swore she heard a small whimper. She frowned, gnawing on her lip. “W-What about you?” She said softly. Because of course, that was what she had been the most worried about.

 

              _“Ah!”_ Came the cheerfully voice. She hated how it still managed to make her heart flutter, now only with an additional guilty or lonely pang vibrating throughout her chest. _“I’m alright. I was sick yesterday, I just have a bit of a headache today. I’ll be all better with some rest!”_

Alisha giggled, Sorey’s optimism rubbing off on her. “So…” She began. “You’re at Mikleo’s home?”

 

              _“Mmm. I was the only one who could take him. I’ll probably stay a while because…”_ He drifted off, ending it simply in a hum.

 

              “You’re… Worried?” She said softly.

 

              _“Yeah,”_ Sorey laughed. She could picture him rubbing the back of his neck. “ _Just a bit!”_

“Alright…” Alisha said, voice bordering on disappointment as she saw Sergei walking up to her, waving. “I’ll let you go…”

 

              “Bye!” Sorey called back with false energy, dropping the phone as the line went dead.

 

              He stared down at Mikleo. His head was now in Sorey’s lap, one arm wrapped around one of Sorey’s crossed legs, and his nose nuzzled in-between his own arm and the back of Sorey’s knee. His breathing was steady, and everything seemed alright. He brushed his hands through the boy’s silver hair gently, careful not to wake the peaceful sight.

             

              The peace lasted exactly 32 minutes. Not, that Sorey was watching the clock or anything.

 

              It started the same way as last time. Mikleo body slowly grew tense, and then there was a whimper. Sorey placed and hand on Mikleo’s shoulder and shook him, eyes widening in desperation, knowing from his previous experience what would happen.

 

              Mikleo did not wake, but he did shiver under Sorey’s palm and burry his face further into Sorey’s leg. His breathing became uneven, and his legs shifted under the blankets. There was a sob and Sorey had to watch in horror as a hot tear rolled down his lover’s cheek, the shaking doing nothing to wake him.

 

              There was a more painful, emotional sound that came from his throat. It wasn’t a whine, but it was also too soft to be a yell. If one had to describe it you could call it desperation as a sound.

 

              Suddenly Mikleo shivered severely and his shoulders jerked, and finally he sat up with a scream. His breathing was horribly ragged and his hands were now covering his mouth. From behind him Sorey could see his shoulders shaking, and he was making frightened whining sounds along with each breath he took.

 

              Mikleo nearly jumped out of his skin when Sorey gently placed his hands on his waist, yelping and shaking. Sorey only gripped him tighter, dragging Mikleo into his lap and letting the boy’s legs sprawl out in front of himself.

 

              “It’s just me Princess,” Sorey whispered softly, nuzzling his nose into the crook in Mikleo’s neck and shoulder, before placing a single soft kiss there, feeling Mikleo shiver as he did so.

 

              “Sorey,” Mikleo croaked shakily, finding Sorey’s hands which were looped around his waist, and grabbing them tightly. “Sorey…” He whimpered again, leaning heavily into him.

 

              “You should go back to sleep.” Sorey whispered softly in his ear. He felt Mikleo shake his head against him. Sorey frowned with surprise and displeasure, lifting his head. “Please?” He tried again, pouting.

 

              Mikleo only shook his head again, harder this time, and took his hands off of Sorey’s to cover his ears. Sorey sighed, moving his hands to pull Mikleo’s off, holding them tightly instead.  “Mikleo… What happened yesterday?”

 

              Silence.

 

              “Mikl-“

 

              “Eizen left.”

 

              Sorey forget to breathe briefly, his mouth slowly forming an “o” in harsh realization. He flinched, pulling Mikleo closer and wrapping his arms around his waist again tightly. “You should still sleep.”

 

              “No.”

 

              “I’ll stay.”

 

              Silence, consideration, thought.

 

              “Let me take a bath first,” Mikleo finally said slowly. Sorey hummed, not exactly pleased with the answer but unraveling his arms never the less. Mikleo slid off the bed, and promptly almost fell.

 

              “Mikle-!”

 

              “I’m fine, I just had a head rush.” He said, sliding out of Sorey’s grip on his waist. Sorey frowned, watching his wobbly steps towards his closet. He got up to follow the boy, and yelped as a change of clothes were thrown at his face, sliding down just in time for him to see Mikleo stumble into the bathroom.

 

              Sorey stood in the doorway before Mikleo could close it, watching Mikleo throw his clothes down on the floor in a pile and pull of his shirt. Mikleo stopped for a second, and then turned to Sorey, frowning. “What, are you just going to stand there and watch me strip?”

 

              “Maybe,” Sorey teased, except he was dead serious.

 

              “Sorey.” Mikleo growled firmly, and Sorey sighed. Turning around to face the other direction.

 

              He could hear the shuffle of clothing and Mikleo’s feet, listening as the bath began to start.

 

              “Are you seriously just going to stand there?”

 

              “Yep,” Sorey said simply. His insides secretly flipping in turmoil as he listened to Mikleo’s steps, ready to spin around if one even seemed slightly unsteady.

 

              “You’re ridiculous.” Mikleo sighed.

 

              “Says you,” Sorey replied.

 

              Mikleo humphed, and Sorey heard drawers open and close and Mikleo set something down, and then pad back over to the bath. His steps were becoming increasingly unsteady, and it was making Sorey secretly really glad he was standing here, even if Mikleo wasn’t happy about it.

 

              Finally he heard the splash of water. There was a pause, and then a larger one followed by the sound of water sloshing around the edges of the tub. He presumed Mikleo was in the bath now, and turned to the side, leaning against the doorway and sliding down. His eyes closed for safe measures.

 

              The water continued to run for a minute or two longer before Mikleo finally turned it off. Sorey allowed his eyes to flutter open, surprised to find Mikleo leaning over the tub and staring at him.

 

              “What?” He teased. But he only succeeded in making a blush dust Mikleo’s sickly pale cheeks (although, there were slightly more colored than earlier) as he dropped back down into the tub, beginning to wet his hair and submerge himself deeper.

 

              “You’re seriously just going to sit there?”

 

              “Yep.”

 

              “The entire time.”

 

              “What, do you want me to get in with you?” Sorey taunted. That earned him a splash and Mikleo sitting back up, sending Sorey a glare that would be at least one thousand times more deadly if his face wasn’t bright red.

 

              “You could…” Silence, Mikleo shifting awkwardly and hanging his head lower. “Wash my hair,” he managed to mumble. Sorey stared in disbelief for a moment, and then laughed. Mikleo shifted his legs, making the water splash, “Oh, shut up!” He cried, and Sorey laughs died out, replaced with a gentle smile.

 

              Sorey stood, and watched as Mikleo’s eyes jerked up, tracking his every movement as he made his way towards the tub.

 

              Sorey sat down on the edge, pretending he didn’t notice Mikleo ducking his head in embarrassment as he reached over his head to get to the shelf on the other side.

 

              “Which one?”

 

              “Start with the blue one.”

 

              He did, grabbing the blue bottle and pouring shampoo into his hand. As he touched Mikleo’s head the boy flinched and tensed, but as Sorey began lathering the soap he felt Mikleo slowly relaxing, eventually even letting out a content hum as Sorey rubbed his fingers through his scalp.

 

              Eventually Sorey stopped, grabbing the cup sitting on the side of the bath and tilting Mikleo’s head began gently, pouring water through his hair and attempting to get most of the soap out.

 

              “The red one.” Mikleo said before Sorey could ask. Mikleo took this as a chance to shift his position in the tub, pulling himself back up as he had seemed to of sunk down in the water. Once he was comfortable Sorey began the process again, this time immediately receiving a content hum.

 

              “I’m spoiled,” Mikleo said softly. Sorey smiled, pulling Mikleo’s hair over his shoulder, even if it was still too short to stay there.

 

              He planted a kiss on the boy’s wet cheek, “You deserve it.”

 

              Silence as Sorey pulled his hair back to its spot, beginning to run soap through it once again.

 

              “Please don’t leave.”

 

              Sorey smiled, “I won’t.”

 

              He knew Mikleo didn’t mean today.

 

~

 

              After the bath it was already 2:30. After Mikleo had found Sorey a tooth brush, Sorey had thoroughly brushed Mikleo’s hair, causing him to almost fall asleep, and them just taking their sweet time in general, it was 3:21. Sorey’s phone had a bunch of missed texts and two missed calls, he didn’t look at them as he guided an exhausted, stumbling Mikleo to his bed.

 

              “Does Zenerus know you’re staying?” Mikleo mumbled. Sorey frowned, now wandering around attempting to find the light switch.

 

              “No, I’ll call him.” Sorey was currently dressed in his own clothes, since Mikleo had _stolen them._ Mikleo had insisted on Sorey “giving them back” though, and despite Sorey’s sighs and complaints he fully intended on doing so. After all Mikleo looked _really cute_ in his clothing.

 

              Sorey finally found the switch, located in a weird corner of the room and shut it out. The only light source now being the lamp and the for once, closed shades.

 

              Sorey meandered back over to his phone on the bedside table, beginning to explain his situation to his Grandfather as he crawled hallway under the covers, still sitting.

 

              “Yes I’m staying the night.” He confirmed, and then paused. “I actually might stay part of tomorrow to it I have to.” Mikleo jerked at this, pushing himself up onto his wobbly arms quickly and looking up at Sorey.

 

              “You don’t have t-“

 

              Sorey put his thumb over Mikleo’s lips, and curled his middle finger under Mikleo’s chin. “I’m sorry let me reword that. _If I feel like it would be useful for me to stay I would like to stay tomorrow and help._ Especially if I don’t feel well still.”

 

              Mikleo frowned, and then dropped back down into the bed, rolling over onto his other side sleepily.

 

              “Okay, thank you for understanding Gramps. Love you, bye.” He then opened his texts, scrolling through them. Zaveid had wished them to get better, Sergei had apologized and written an entire paragraph that basically summed up to “get well soon”. Alisha had made some more worried comments and told them to get better fast and let them know how Mikleo was as soon as possible.

 

              He set the phone down, choosing not to reply to any of it.

 

              Instead, he flopped down onto the bed. Reaching for the lamp and dismissing the little light left in the room, tugging Mikleo closer to him. He pulled an arm around him and over his chest, allowing Mikleo to clutch it tightly and nuzzle his hand.

 

              Sorey giggled, nuzzling his nose into Mikleo’s hair in return. It smelled like his lavender shampoo.

 

~

 

              It was roughly 1:00 AM when Mikleo pulled away from him. He crawled over the spanse of his unnecessarily big bed, considering Mikleo definitely did quite the opposite of sprawling out in his sleep and even with Sorey there, they were pressed so tightly together it wouldn’t matter.

 

              Mikleo stopped as he reached the shades, located just above his bed. He ripped them open and Sorey flinched, automatically bracing for light. He relaxed when although there was now light, it was soft and warm. The light of the moon.

 

              Mikleo began unlocking the window, his hands working surprisingly fast. Sorey had the feeling this had happened many times before. He pushed his window up, and then continued, to Sorey’s surprise, to open the screen behind it.

 

              Mikleo splayed his legs out beneath him, resting his head on his arms as he stared out the window, a soft breath of wind filtering through his still slightly damp hair.

 

              Sorey sat up, if only to make his presence known. Mikleo did not bother to turn around, “Sorry, did I wake you?”

 

              Sorey shook his head, and then realized Mikleo couldn’t see it, and made a hum of disagreement. He lied back down, now drifting off to sleep with the beautiful sight of Mikleo’s hair glowing, and his eyes filtering through a perfect tint of blue and his skin looking unearthly soft in the beautiful lighting. The blinds and his hair fluttering in the ever-so-gentle wind.

 

              So lucky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ┬──┬ ¯\\_(ツ)
> 
> Dere
> 
> I fixed it


	16. Bitter Tears

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I re-read this like 193418413million times but there are probably still typos since I'm blind so as always feel free to point them out to me if you see them!

Sorey awoke to Mikleo sitting. His eyes slowly focused on the boy who was sitting up in bed beside him, looking attentive. He was looking up, not focused on anything in particular, but yet Sorey could tell he wasn’t spaced out and was indeed aware of his surroundings.

 

He shifted on his side, bringing attention to himself and watching as lilac eyes immediately flickered towards him, without turning their head. “What?” Sorey asked, cocking an eyebrow and vaguely noting that the window on the wall which the bed was positioned against was opened, and the shades were pulled back.

 

“Listen.” Was all the information Mikleo gave him, immediately flickering his eyes back up.

 

Sorey’s eyebrows furrowed and he sat halfway up with extreme and uncoordinated quickness, eyeing the boy in concern. “Is something wro-“

 

Mikleo placed a finger on his lips, shushing him gently.

 

Sorey sat all the way up, slowly and carefully now. He sat a moment, furrowing and squinting, not understanding what Mikleo meant. And then he heard it.

 

_Wailing._

His eyes flew wide and his head jerked towards Mikleo, who now had his eyes closed with a knowing, gentle expression on his face.

 

“Edna.”

 

Sorey let silence settle, gaping at the boy in front of him. The light was shining through the window, outlining his face and allowing Sorey to see every little frizzy hair, messy from sleeping with it wet and for so long. He observed the boy’s face, checking over it to see that color had been mostly regained and the bags under his eyes looked more normal. Sorey released a sigh, a weight that he hadn’t known had been there sliding off his shoulders.

 

Mikleo, never missing a beat. “Did I worry you yesterday?” One eye was cracked open to look at Sorey. He was oddly calm and overly observant this morning, a bit like when Sorey first met him. His eye was piercing, glazed and like smooth ice, but yet cold is not the right word to describe his expression.

 

Sorey pressed his lips together, “N-No, don’t worry about it. I mean, I was worried! But, um…”

 

A soft chuckle, Mikleo’s eyes are closed again. “You’re an awful liar.” He sighed, looking up at the ceiling with an odd content smile, his eyes now fluttering open again, filtering through different colors.

 

_Contentedness._

 

_That’s what made his eyes different._

Sorey blushed, and then started, realizing what had begun this conversation. “Ah! Should we go help Edna…”

 

Mikleo was getting up already. “She stopped crying. I’ll wait a bit and then go get her.” He slid out of bed with even more grace then Sorey had ever seen him have in his own house. Floating gently over to the bathroom with his hands locked behind his back.

 

~

 

Edna felt the bed shift.

 

She felt no need to look up, instead let the covers the covers be thrown back and herself be dragged towards a warm figure. Arms wrapped around her. They were not physically strong or sturdy like Eizen’s, but for some reason they felt that way. It was comforting.

 

She let herself be pressed into Mikleo’s chest as he attempted to undo her tangles by threading a dainty hand through her hair, gently pulling apart knots singlehandedly.

 

It stayed like that for a while. Neither of them drifted off, sleeping was what neither of them wanted to do. Not that they were uncomfortable or wanted to move, but they didn’t really want to slip into unconscious either.

 

“I don’t hate him.”

 

“I do.”

 

Mikleo tightened his grip around her.

 

“It’s not like he was around much anyway.”

 

“But at least I knew he would come back when I needed him.” Edna snapped, “ _You,_ weren’t related to him by blood. You haven’t even been with him for that long.”

 

Mikleo flinched. She knew she had stung deep, hit some awful insecurity that he never spoke of. That both she and Eizen pretended didn’t exist.

 

“In his own twisted way,” Mikleo said softly. “He was trying to protect you.”

 

Edna went silent, knowing that whenever Mikleo didn’t say _I think_ he meant it as a fact, not a personal opinion. Which always meant his observation was correct. She ground her teeth, _“Well then, explain to me how him leaving will help?”_ she hissed.

“It won’t.”

 

“Then-“ she cried, putting just enough distance in-between them to pound the delicate boy’s chest once. She felt him flinch. “Why-“ again, she pounded again. “Did-“ again. “He-“ her pounds were growing weak. _“Leave.”_ She choked, her hand only hitting Mikleo’s chest weakly before loosely dropping to the space between them.

 

“Because he thought it would.”

 

“What do you know?!” Edna yelled, slamming her palm down in the space between them. Shuttering and shaking despite having just wailed for over an hour, tears threatened to spill down her face. She still hadn’t opened her eyes, still couldn’t see Mikleo’s face. She didn’t want to see it. She knew she was hurting him.

 

“I know that he loved you more than anything and would do anything to even try not to hurt you.”

 

Silence fell.

 

“I’m not Eizen,” Mikleo said softly. It wasn’t pitiful though, good. Edna didn’t want to be pitied. She was strong.

 

“But let me help.”

 

Edna finally opened her eyes, and sent Mikleo the deadliest glare of the century. His eyes filled with hurt, he moved to get up.

 

Edna yanked him back down so hard he yelped.

 

“Edna-“ he gasped, hitting Eizen’s bed with a loud noise even on the soft mattress.

 

“No, you’re not Eizen.” Edna grumbled, snuggling up to her brother. “And what do you think you’re doing, stupidleo?”

 

“Your nicknames are getting less creative.” But his voice shook.

 

“Yeah, yeah,” she kicked him in the shin, making him whine even as he wrapped his arms around her once again.

 

Silence ensued again. Even more comfortable and relaxing than before.

 

“Mikleo,” Edna said softly.

 

“Edna,” Mikleo whispered in reply.

 

“You don’t leave either.”

 

A pause. Not out of hesitation, but because Mikleo needed a moment to smile softly.

 

“Of course I won’t.”

 

~

 

When Sorey finally made it downstairs, he was already two and a half hours late for school. At this point, Sore decided his teachers would glare at him more for showing up late than for not showing up at all. Sorey was also even more sure that if he got any more sick than he already was Mikleo would pummel him into the ground.

 

“Morning sleeping beauty,” Edna grumbled, causing Sorey to nearly jump out of his skin and then continue to dissolve into a coughing fit.

 

Mikleo was on him in a second, feeling his forehead. Sorey looked back at him, giving him what he hoped was a convincing smile.

 

“You’re warm again,” Mikleo whined, sticking out his lower lip. “You were doing better yesterday too… You shouldn’t have gone to school.” He looked back at Edna, “Do we have any medicine? I used to have some in my cabinet but I think it got moved…” He grumbled setting his cup down and moving to bustle out of the kitchen.

 

“Mikle-o-o-“ Sorey’s voice managed to crack out despite its protests, him yelling much louder than it clearly wanted it too. Mikleo turned at the sound of the dying voice. “I’m fine really,” he said huskily. Mikleo opened his mouth. “My throat is just a bit sore and my head just hurts a little. If I just rest I’ll be fine.” He smiled. Mikleo frowned, crossing his arms across his chest and chewing on his lower lip. “You should try and relax too,” Sorey said softly in a passive tone, knowing if he was firm it would only leave something for Mikleo to argue against.

 

Something in Mikleo’s expression shifted and he sighed, waltzing back towards the couch and grabbing his cup of tea back off of the coffee table.

 

It was odd, extremely odd, how comfortable everything felt to Sorey. Even as they all just sat on the couch including Edna, in the giant all too big home. It made Sorey feel all warm and cozy, like when he was surrounded by Gramps and all of the other people of Elysia.

 

“You can always stay.” Edna’s voice cut through the quiet. Mikleo made an adorable squeak and sloshed his tea at his lips. “You’re welcome to come here whenever you want, Sorey. And stay as long as you like.”

 

“Thank you,” Sorey said fondly, giving Edna a thankful smile.

 

“Just, don’t be gross in front of me.”

 

~

 

It was lonely without Sorey, Mikleo or Edna at school. Alisha wondered what they were doing, and if Mikleo was well. She furrowed her eyebrows. Sorey hadn’t seemed to of known what was wrong with him over the phone, but he sounded very worried. The very fact that Mikleo skipped school two and a half days in a row was a feat within itself. Mikleo tended to drag himself to school for as long as he could walk.

 

“You know,” Rose sighed. They were sitting in the bustling cafeteria and Alisha jerked up to look at her friend, taking her focus off of her lap. “If you’re that worried why don’t we just call ‘em?”

 

“N-No, that’s okay-!” But Rose already had the phone ringing. She set it on speaker, and Alisha frowned, doubting that that would work in the loud cafeteria.

 

The line finally connected, and Rose immediately yelled into the phone, “Aye idiot, what are you up to?” There was a pause and then a nervous laugh as Rose turned her volume all the way up.

 

 _“I’m at Mikleo and Edna’s house, why?”_ Alisha frowned, his voice was scratchier than yesterday.

 

Alisha leaned over the table, attempting to talk into the phone, “H-How is Mikleo?” She said softly, but yet her voice was loud.

 

 _“Ah! He’s alright now. Aren’t you?”_ There was some shuffling sounds from the other end and finally Mikleo said:

 

 _“Yes, I’m fine.”_ His voice was a bit distant, telling them that he was on speaker now too.

 

“I’m surprised you’re not at school, Mikleo.” Lailah said softly, leaning a little bit too close over Rose’s shoulder to be normal. “Usually you drag yourself out here so as long as you can walk!” She said in the uppity tone she enjoyed using.

 

There was a voice starting on the end of the line, presumably Mikleo’s but Sorey cut in. _“Yeah well, he couldn’t walk yesterday.”_

There was some silence, and then finally Sergei took the honors of speaking. “What do you mean?” He said loudly, his voice carrying surprisingly well.

 

There was some shuffling, and Alisha swore she heard a soft, “whatever” before Sorey spoke. _“Mikleo collapsed yesterday… In the hallway before History ended.”_

The table seemed to fall into silence. Lailah covered her mouth, “Oh my,” she said softly, in a worried tone. Rose furrowed her brows, as if trying to work out an equation.

 

“What… Happened?” Alisha managed to say what they were all thinking. Everyone seemed to turn to look at the phone for an answer, including Zaveid.

 

Sorey sighed, _“He overworked himself. And hadn’t slept properly in like, way too long.”_ Sorey hummed. _“He basically never sleeps. I don’t know how he’s not a zombie by now!”_ Sorey chuckled, but the last note sounded a bit sad as he then hummed softly.

 

“Mikleo!” Lailah gasped into the phone. Everyone started. “Is he there? He better be. You need to take better care of yourself young man, or I’m going to drag you over to my house and drug you to sleep!”

 

There was a soft groan on the other end of the line and Sorey seemed to be holding back giggles (and failing. Miserably). _“Sorry for worrying you, Lailah.”_ Came Mikleo’s surprisingly soft voice. _“I’ll try to take better care of myself. Also, you’ve already tried drugging me to sleep. It didn’t work. If it did work I would drug myself to sleep_ every night _, Lailah.”_

Lailah is about to open her mouth again but Zaveid, to everyone’s surprise, beats her to it. “How’s Edna?’

 

There’s silence on the end of the phone, and then some shuffling, and some grumbling and possibly some death threats being whispered. _“I’m fine,”_ Edna finally grumbled. Zaveid quirked a brow, not seeming to believe this.

 

 _“Oh?”_ He teased. “Then why aren’t you at school? Don’t tell me you’re playing hookie little lady!”

 

 _“It’s personal.”_ Is all that came from the other end of the line. It was a low grumble, bordering on growl. Zaveid only frowned, and then yanked the phone out of Rose’s hands.

 

“Hey!” She yelled, but let him take it anyway. Everyone watched in curiosity as he took the phone off speaker and walked a little ways away from the table.

 

“It’s Eizen, isn’t it?” Zaveid finally said once he was out of earshot of the others. There was silence on the other end of the line, and Zaveid sighed. “Look he didn’t mean to-“

 

_“I know, I already got the full talk from Mikleo. I don’t need to hear it again. Not thank you and goodbye.”_

And the line went dead.

 

When Zaveid set the phone back down, the call no longer on, everyone stared at it blankly.

 

Finally, Lailah looked back up at him.

 

“What did you do?”

 

“I didn’t do anything!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was supposed to be longer but my life is chaos so it didn't happen hahahasfdsafa. It's also not really as well written as I would like I'm so sorry. Consider this a sort-of plot related filler or something idek
> 
> On the bright side, Zaveid and Sergei will be starting their character development! I refuse to leave any character flat >:c So hopefully that goes as planned, look forward to it!


	17. Love is Acceptance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This entire chapter is literally just fluff you're welcome

Friday went pretty normally. Mikleo, Edna and Sorey went back to school (apparently Mikleo had to drag Edna, though). Sorey still kept a close eye on Mikleo, but otherwise everything was normal. Their teachers all glared at them, except for Mayvin, who actually bothered to ask if everything was alright, gave them a huge workload of everything they had missed and then refused to explain it all. Once again, except for Mayvin. Zenerus left, but not without Sorey hugging him at least five times in one hour, and Alisha invited everyone over Saturday.

 

Which is why they were at the certain predicament they were at now.

 

“It’s way too cold to move.”

 

Mikleo sighed, “Edna, oh my god. We haven’t been with everyone in way too long. _We are going.”_

 

Sorey smiled nervously as the two began arguing, and Mikleo pulled on Edna’s arm, trying to yank her off the couch while she kicked him in the stomach.

 

“Come on, we’re going its polite.”

 

“Momleo.”

 

“Sorey, a little help?” Mikleo hissed, glaring at his lover. Sorey only smiled and raised his hands in the air, deciding that this was not a good thing to get involved in. Mikleo gave him a very sour glance and then let go of Edna, causing her to nearly fall of the couch as he released the pressure and waltzed into the kitchen.

 

“What are you doing?” Edna called.

 

“Making hot chocolate that you can only drink if you come in the car~” he sang. Edna growled, and crossed her arms, finally standing up.

 

“Monster,” she grumbled under her breath.

 

~

 

Sorey was letting Mikleo drive his car. Mikleo turned out to be a better driver than him anyway, so it wasn’t a problem. Edna was sitting in the back seat, for no other reason than to have more space to sleep. She wasn’t even buckled. Her hot chocolate had already been drained.

 

Mikleo took one hand off the wheel and set it on the center console, tapping his long fingers against it with no particular rhythm. Sorey watched his long pale fingers bounce, a particular amount of grace and control even in the absentminded movement.

 

Sorey’s lips twitched.

 

“You painted your nails,” Sorey said softly. He watched Mikleo’s face soften, a gentle smile gracing his lips. He glanced down briefly at his hand on the wheel. He was only using his palm, so his fingers were spread out in front of him to see. They were a deep shade of lavender, leaning more towards blue than dull purple.

 

“Mmm,” he hummed. “I just kind of felt like it.”

 

No other reason was needed.

 

Mikleo took his hand back off the console and turned into Alisha’s driveway smoothly. Yep, definitely a much better driver than Sorey.

 

“Hey… Mikleo…” Sorey pouted. Mikleo looked at him, fluttering his lashes and tilting his head as Edna began to sit up groggily in the back seat. “When was the last time you drove anyway?”

 

Mikleo settled a finger onto his lip and hummed, “I guess… Whenever the last time Eizen came before Christmas was?”

 

Sorey sighed. “Mmm,” he hummed gloomily and dramatically slid out of the car. Mikleo chuckled, turning the car off and hopping out. “Not fair,” Sorey said, glaring at Mikleo as he walked around. Mikleo gave him a big smirk and tossed him the keys, Sorey caught them perfectly, of course.

 

“Oh? Yet another thing I’m better than you at.”

 

“Mikleo!” Sorey yelled, and Mikleo took off at a sprint to Alisha’s door, Sorey following close behind and Edna taking her time and grumbling behind them.

 

They both thundered up the stairs, bursting into Alisha’s room at somewhat the same time.

 

“That-“ Sorey huffed, “Was a tie.”

 

“I demand a replay.” Mikleo quipped back, elbowing him in the side and making Sorey whimper.

 

“What… Are you two doing?” Lailah said quietly. Both of the boy’s seemed to flash back to reality. Mikleo blushed furiously, Sorey just laughed and continued to walk into the room.

 

“You two are weird,” Rose sang. Mikleo rolled his eyes and sat down next to Sorey, in the strange sort of kind of circle everyone seemed to have gathered in.

 

“And you aren’t,” he grumbled back. Rose feigned a gasp of offence. Lailah opened her mouth, her eyes sparkling and her lips twitching, preparing to say something…

 

 _“No,”_ everyone said at once, including Edna who was now in the doorway.

 

Lailah pouted, “How did you know I was going to make a pun. It was a good one too…” She whined.

 

“Sorry babe,” Rose said. “Don’t wanna hear it.”

 

“Ro-ose!” Lailah huffed indignantly. Everyone chuckled.

 

As Edna moved out of the doorway to settle beside Mikleo, Mikleo lied down, letting his legs sprawl out behind him and his elbows support himself, along with the help of his hands cupping his cheeks.

 

“Mikleo…” Sergei said, clearing his throat. “I don’t mean to be rude, but are your nails… painted?” He questioned, looking genuinely confused. Mikleo looked over to him, and blinked, forcing his face to stay blank.

 

“Mmm,” was all he offered in return. Alisha was eyeing him awkwardly, and Rose seemed like she was trying to put the last couple of pieces into a puzzle, but they wouldn’t fit.

 

“Why?” Sergei asked. Mikleo flinched, but stayed patient, knowing that Sergei wasn’t trying to be rude.

 

“Because I wanted to,” he said slowly, like trying to explain a difficult concept to a small child.

 

Sergei’s eyebrows only furrowed further, “It’s not embarrassin-“

 

Zaveid cut him off, “They look pretty.” He deadpanned. Everyone turned to face him, mouths agape. “What shade of… Lavender? Is that lavender? Is that.” He asked, waving his hand and looking genuinely interested. Mikleo stared at him for a moment, before his face broke into an uncontrollable smile. Sorey’s chest swelled so much he swore it could burst, and Lailah and Edna both looked relieved.

 

“I don’t know,” he hummed, taking one hand off of his cheek to look at it. “It had some fancy name they made up on the bottle, I don’t remember it.” He sighed. Zaveid tsked.

 

“And here the teachers all call you brilliant and you can’t even remember the name of nail polish.”

 

“Hey!” Mikleo yelled, blushing. Lailah chuckled and Edna elbowed the middle of his arched back, making him yelp.

 

“Now that I think about it, your hair is really long now Mikleo.” Alisha observed. Mikleo shifted uncomfortably.

 

“Yeah, it used to be really long. I decided to grow it out again,” he mumbled. “I told you that before.”

 

Lailah finally piped in, clapping her hands. “Ooh yes! It used to be down to his waist, it was gorgeous and it was so nice to style…” She trailed off, looking up at the sky in a daze.

 

“You can play with it when it gets that long again, Lailah,” Mikleo sighed.

 

“I didn’t even know guys grew their hair out,” Sergei continued. Mikleo tensed again. “Forgive me if I’m wrong, but aren’t you afraid of… Looking feminine? I mean your build is already…”

 

Everything seemed to get quiet. Sorey heard Edna growl deep in her throat and when he looked over to her, she looked about ready to do worse than just snap Sergei’s neck. He then let his eyes flicker over to Mikleo. He was still smiling sweetly, the same expression plastered onto his face. But his nails were digging into his cheeks so hard Sorey feared he was going to make himself bleed.

 

“What’s wrong with being feminine?” Sorey finally piped up, staring Sergei straight in the eye. Sergei locked eyes with him back, opened his mouth, closed it, and then appeared to ponder.

 

“Nothing, I suppose. How interesting.” He said slowly. Sorey could actually hear Lailah release her breath from beside him. He heard Edna mumble under her breath something that suspiciously sounded like, _“guess I don’t have to kill him today.”_

His eyes panned over to Mikleo. His lover’s shoulders were shaking and he was looking down. His fingers were no longer digging into his cheek, but there were little crescent moons where his painted nails had been. He was sagging, and Sorey decided his shoulders were shaking from relief, and settled a hand gently just above the curve of his back, stroking a single finger along it and feeling Mikleo’s skin shiver under his touch.

 

“Sorry if that was rude of me, Mikleo.” Sergei bowed his head, and set his hands on his thighs, “Please, forgive me.”

 

Mikleo looked up in surprise, “A-Ah its fine!” But he was unable to keep a waver out of his voice. Alisha was tilting her head at him both in confusion in concern, questions building up in her brain.

 

“You know,” Rose piped up. All heads immediately turned to her. “Maybe we could actually go to lunch today or something? We haven’t gone out together in like, for-ev-er.” She groaned.

 

So they all ended up at a little coffee shop down the road, with a good amount of customers in it, but yet it wasn’t loud or over crowded. They had had to push two tables together to make it work, but it was worth it.

 

Sorey poked Mikleo in the side, the albino immediately flinched away in fear of a tickle attack, so Sorey put a hand on his shoulder instead. “What are you getting? Since it’s a coffee shop there’s not much actual food…” Sorey pouted. Mikleo rolled his eyes.

 

“I’m not that hungry anyway, I’m just going to get coffee.” He mumbled. Sorey glared at him.

 

“Are you ever hungry?”

 

“Are you ever not hungry?”

 

Sorey opened his mouth to spit something back, and then closed it and furrowed his brows, looking back to the menu. “Point taken.”

 

“It’s 11:00 anyway, if you eat now you’re just going to get hungry again later.” Mikleo grumbled. “And then I’ll have to make you more food…”

 

“Come on you love cooking for me~” Sorey teased, elbowing Mikleo in the side as the rest of the table chattered around.

 

Alisha was staring at Mikleo, or more like, staring through him. Sergei was sitting next to her, eyeing her with growing concern every 30 seconds or so, maybe less.

 

“Alisha…?” He finally asked. Alisha jolted, spinning around to look at him. “Are you alright?”

 

“Y-Yes…” She said quietly.

 

“Is… It about Mikleo?” Sergei said quietly. “I know we haven’t been friends for very long but if there’s something wrong, you’re welcome to tell me.” He tilted his chin up proudly, and Alisha found herself giggling and the pure sight.

 

“Well… It’s just,” she said quietly. “I know Mikleo can seem kind of proud sometimes but really, I don’t think he has that much confidence…” She sucked on the inside of her cheeks. “I just, wonder when he got bold enough to do something with his appearance like that….” Suddenly her eyes shot open wider, and she turned to Sergei, holding her hands up in the air as if to prove her innocence. “N-Not that it’s a bad thing! It’s just…”

 

_Something I don’t understand._

_Something Mikleo doesn’t trust me enough to explain._

“Different? Not what you’re used to?” Sergei cocked his head at Alisha.

 

“Y-Yeah,” she said softly, and gave him a sweet smile, which then morphed into a grateful one.

 

“It’s nice that he has found himself confidence though, if what you said is true.” Sergei hummed, before turning back to the menu.

 

Alisha smiled a bit, and then spoke under her breath so that not even Sergei could hear, “Yeah but that’s probably thanks to…” Her eyes landed on Sorey, and her smile widened when her eyes flickered in-between the lovers. They were bickering. Sorey was whining and Mikleo’s voice seemed to have a scolding tone, she almost burst out laughing when Mikleo wacked Sorey over the head with his menu and turned back to it, leaving Sorey looking like a kicked puppy and rubbing his head.

 

“I guess they really are meant for each other.”

 

~

 

After coffee they had decided to all walk around town. It was convenient for Alisha to only live ten minutes away from it, it had always been one of the reasons why they all always seemed to end up at Alisha’s house.

 

Rose drifted back away from Lailah to walk beside Alisha in the back.

 

“So,” Rose said, nudging her. Alisha turned towards her friend. “How’s everything?”

 

Alisha stared at her a second and then sighed, “If you’re asking about Sorey it’s going much better.” Rose nodded. “I think…” Alisha stopped, looking at the group ahead of them. Mikleo was tugging on Sorey’s sleeve, nodding at things and seeming to explain some of the things they passed. Sorey probably hadn’t been around town much. Alisha smiled and shook her head. “No, now I know him and Mikleo were meant to be. I don’t think Sorey and I would’ve worked that well in the long run.” Rose stared at her, an uncharacteristically serious expression on her face.

 

“Good.” Was all the redhead said as she jogged back up to the group, particularly towards Lailah. “Oh!” She yelled and turned back for a second, “Give Sergei a thought, kay?” And then she winked.

 

Alisha felt her face go a deep, deep red.

 

“What about me?” Alisha nearly jumped out of her skin, spinning around to see Sergei coming up behind her. She had forgotten the man had been wandering in the back of everyone, looking around in awe.

 

Alisha cleared her throat professionally. “N-Nothing!” Her voice still squeaked.

 

Sergei only nodded though, his expression gentle. “Alirght.” He said, walking up beside her to continue their wander around town.

 

Eventually they ended up in a clothing store. Which the girls were rather thrilled about, the boy’s looked slightly terrified and Mikleo looked mildly interested.

 

“Ooh!” Lailah called, before the rest of the girls could drag her away. She grabbed Mikleo’s arm, tugging him forward and making him stumble. “Mikleo is a good fashion consultant.”

~

 

“Okay, but Edna, when was the last time you bought new clothes?” Mikleo quipped, digging through a rack of xx small shirts.

 

“The last time I grew.”

 

“Which was, how many years ago?”

 

He got wacked over the head with an umbrella.

 

“Mikleo is right though Edna…” Edna sent Lailah the deadliest, scariest glare. “N-Not about the growing thing!” Lailah squeaked, shaking her finger. “About the fact that you need new clothes. Although the growing thing is true too…” Edna wacked her umbrella at the ground beside Lailah, surprising the taller girl and making her flinch. But all of them knew that Lailah, for some reason, was one of the few people Edna never actually hit.

 

“I don’t really have your style down though… I was never good at shopping for you…” Mikleo grumbled, now digging through another rack of shirts.

 

“You really are good at this, aren’t you Mikleo?” Rose asked, swinging an arm around his shoulder. Mikleo ignored it, reaching higher to shift through another rack of shirts.

 

“Mm. I supposed. My mother was a stylist, I used to go to work and help her sometimes.” There was a pause of silence, and then Rose pulled him closer, lowering her voice.

 

“Do you not identify as entirely male?” 

 

“W-Wha-?” Mikleo stuttered, eyes widening as he spun around to look at the redhead beside him.

 

“I’ve always kinda had this gut feeling that you’re different, and I never knew why. And recently I’ve started getting an inkling that that might be it.” She was beaming at him, like this was normal, like people could just figure this kind of stuff out through _gut feelings._

“I…” Mikleo said softly, and then looked back up. “I’m genderfluid,” he mumbled. “So I’m male, female, everything in-between and nothing at all.”

 

“Huh.” Rose released his shoulder. “Makes sense.”

 

Mikleo stared at her in surprise for a second, and then his face softened into something like a smile.

 

“Mikleo!” Suddenly his hand was being grabbed, and he was spun around to meet the bright green eyes and pale doll-like face of Lailah. “There are so many pretty things in here I want to buy for you, at least let me buy you _something.”_ She pouted.

 

“N-No, I don’t want to owe you…” Mikleo said softly.

 

“Mikleo,” Rose piped up. “Let her buy you something or else she’s going to complain to me for the next week.”

 

Mikleo just stared at her for a second. “Mmm…” He hummed. Lailah and Rose seemed to take this as a yes, because Lailah beamed and Rose smirked.

 

“I’m picking something too!” Rose fist pumped in the air and the two balls of chaos ran deeper into the store. Leaving Mikleo standing stunned in place.

 

“Umm…” Alisha said, walking up beside him. “What just happened? Where are they going, and why do they look so excited?” She looked over to the boy, which was still standing stock still. “Um… Mikl-“

 

Tiny giggles erupted. Alisha blinked in amazement at her albino friend, who was covering his mouth with a hand as small giggles slipped out of his mouth, progressively growing louder and louder with a smile on his face that even his pretty long fingers couldn’t hide.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're wondering what color Mikleo's nails are the hex code is #7077df 
> 
> MIKLEO DESERVES EveryTHING 
> 
> *clears throat* anyways as usual if there are any typos tell me and I love comments and constructive crit. I especially love fangirling with people so feel free to fangirl away


	18. You Know Who

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TYSM TO DRAGO TO POINTING OUT MY MILLIONS OF TYPOS LAST CHAPTER I LOVE YOU ;,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,))))

It was night now, 1:02 AM if you want to get picky. Sorey was lying in bed, it was one of those nights where his brain was running at a zillion miles an hour, producing theories, overthinking scenarios, drifting into fantasy.

 

So that’s why he nearly fell off the bed when his front door randomly banged open.

 

He sat up immediately. That was strange, very strange. Mikleo would never barge in like that, and Sorey didn’t know why he would come over anyway. Mikleo looked the most content Sorey had seen him in the entire time he had known him today. He would expect the boy to be sleeping.

 

The door shut, it was a bit quieter. Sorey’s senses were on edge and he could hear the person’s footsteps even with his heart pounding in his ears as he turned on his lamp light with a spin and a click.

 

The door to his room burst open and Sorey’s heart thudded loudly, and then came to a standstill, and then began to attempt to pump evenly again, taking in shaky breaths.

 

“Christ Mikleo don’t scare me like… Mikleo?”

 

Mikleo had shut the bedroom door behind him and was now staring at Sorey. Even though the pale boy was standing in a shadow Sorey could still see his deep, but bright amethyst eyes, like a cat’s eyes glowing in the dark. They were unreadable, dark, glazed, but there was one emotion Sorey could clearly recognize.

 

His lover looked oh, so afraid.

 

The image of his beloved’s eyes burning an icy fire in the dark never faded from his head. It was one of those strange images that would stick with him for the rest of his days.

 

“Mikleo-“

 

“Sorry,” Mikleo laughed, it was cold, hollow. “I panicked and I guess I ended up here. I wasn’t thinking.”

 

“And you tell me I apologize too much,” Sorey grumbled. “Come,” he patted beside him on the bed.

 

To his surprise, Mikleo backed away a step.

 

“Mik…leo?” Sorey questioned, furrowing his eyebrows. When the boy only continued to stand frozen Sorey slid out of bed.

 

Mikleo took another step back.

 

Sorey took a step forward.

 

Mikleo took another step back.

 

Sorey took another step forward.

 

Mikleo took a larger stride back.

 

Sorey stopped huffed, and then prepared himself.

 

He ran at his lover, Mikleo only quickly backed further into the corner he had made himself, shut his eyes and shuttered as Sorey barreled towards him. And wrapped his arms around him. And hugged him.

 

Mikleo’s breath became muffled by Sorey’s chest. The panic from earlier gone, and he could feel emotions that should be swelling inside him, and yet he felt oddly numb at the same time. And now, a bit warm, thanks to Sorey. He leaned back against the two connecting walls behind him, allowing Sorey to put more weight on top of him.

 

He did not tremble.

 

He did not cry.

 

He did not choke or stutter or speak.

 

He only sat in silence, allowing himself to take in Sorey’s homey scent.

 

Sorey moved, wrapping his arms around Mikleo’s waist and preparing to pick him up off of the ground.

 

“Don’t.” Mikleo deadpanned. “Just stay.”

 

There was a pause. Mikleo could tell Sorey was confused, he was probably being selfish. Mikleo flinched at this thought. He wrapped his arms in return around Sorey, readjusting his nose so it was buried in his lover’s shoulder again, taking a deep, shuttering breath and beginning to stroke his hands through Sorey’s hair, as if the boy hugging him was the one who needed comforting, not him.

 

But Mikleo didn’t want to talk about it. He didn’t want someone to treat him or spoil him at the moment. He didn’t want Sorey to apologize, or worry. He just wanted a steady constant force.

 

He just wanted to be held like he mattered.

 

“Sorry,” Mikleo spoke softly. “Did I scare you?” They weren’t talking about the fact that Mikleo burst into Sorey’s house at 1:00 AM.

 

A pause, and then Sorey tightened his grip, rocking a bit and pressing Mikleo further into the wall, as if trying to take in as much of him at one time as physically possible. “Yeah,” his voice trembled quietly.

 

Silence, because Mikleo wouldn’t apologize, knowing that would do no good. Neither of them knew how long they stayed like that, Sorey slowly throwing more and more weight into Mikleo as they stood longer and longer. They could’ve stood for five minutes, it could’ve been over half an hour. It didn’t make a difference. Neither of them felt like moving into bed, and when Sorey tried to pull away Mikleo pulled him back.

 

Finally Mikleo took a deep breath, turning his head so that his mouth wasn’t muffled by Sorey’s shoulder, and instead pressed to his ear. “Why don’t we get in bed?” He whispered. Sorey hummed in response, not moving except for pulling his arms lower around Mikleo’s waist for more leverage, and hoisting him up in the air, letting Mikleo wrap his legs overtop of Sorey’s hips himself.

 

He switched off the light before they actually lied down, and then settled Mikleo down on the bed, crawling in after him quickly and resuming a similar position to the one they had just a moment ago, only now lying down. Sorey’s arm was thrown around Mikleo and his head buried into his soft, gentle hair, and Mikleo burying his nose into Sorey’s neck, a hand over his heart and one leg wrapped around the back of his knee.

 

“I love you,” Sorey said softly.

 

“I know.”

 

~

 

Sorey awoke again to someone (judging by the voices, several people) banging open his front door at 7:00 AM on the dot. Sorey and Mikleo were laying in relatively the same position that they had fallen asleep in, only now Mikleo had one leg pushed in-between Sorey’s and the other one underneath both of his legs. Instead of Mikleo’s hand being over his heart, it was now grasping his shirt up on his side and Sorey had one arm underneath Mikleo’s neck, which Mikleo was currently using as a pillow as he had his head buried in Sorey’s chest. And, Sorey’s head was no longer in his hair but resting normally on the pillow.

 

“I swear to fucking god,” Mikleo cursed under his breath. Sorey blinked in surprise, thinking that he had been asleep, and his lover grasped Sorey’s shirt tighter and buried his face into Sorey’s chest deeper. Sorey listened, and then picked up Zaveid’s voice, and then Rose’s, and sighed as the others followed.

 

“Boo!” Yelled Zaveid’s booming voice as he burst open Sorey’s door. Sorey glared at him, and he didn’t have to look at Mikleo to know he was seething.

 

“Zaveid it is…” He rolled over and grabbed his phone, still not completely pulling away from Mikleo. _“7:01 AM on a Sunday. Get out of my house.”_

 

“Awe Sheps! But you said we could use your house for studying anytime~”

 

Oh the things Sorey regretted saying. Like that his last name was Shepard, and that Zaveid could ever come in his house _at all._

 

“You’re not even going to study.”

 

“Damn right!” Zaveid roared. Mikleo flinched and covered his ears.

 

“I swear to fucking god Zaveid I will steal Edna’s umbrella and _impale you with it.”_ Zaveid pretended to flinch away in fear.

 

“Yeesh I’m sorry for interrupting you and your boyfriends cuddle session.” Zaveid said. “Didn’t know it would make you this grumpy.”

 

“Last night sucked I’m in a bad mood and didn’t sleep much as usual please go away or at least shut the door and be _quiet_ because I want to _sleep._ ” Mikleo sat up and then flopped back down (aggressively, to make his point) the other way and pressed his back against Sorey instead, letting his lover’s arms wrap around him.

 

Zaveid turned around, calling to the others as he went, “Aye Mikleo’s in a really shitty mood and it’s actually surprisingly, kind of sort of _really_ scary, so let’s keep our voices or at least not scream, or else I think he really might kill all of us.” And then he shut the door, only muffling the loud exclamations and teasing for Zaveid’s words.

 

Mikleo almost immediately relaxed, and Sorey began running his fingers through Mikleo’s hair, hitting a few knots and making him flinch as he gently attempted to pluck them out so he could run his hand through more smoothly. “Do you want to talk about what happened last night?” Sorey asked softly.

 

Mikleo hummed, and then rolled over onto his back, looking at the ceiling and appearing to think for a moment before turning his head to Sorey. “I wasn’t going to but…” His eyes had that intense sort of look in his eyes when he was analyzing something. Deeper with a bit of frost on them. He shook his head, looking back up and closing his eyes. “My Uncle just called, that’s all.” He sighed.

 

Sorey’s eyes widened though. “Your Uncle? You mean the one who…” He trailed off, Mikleo opened his eyes again, humming.

 

“M-Mikle…” Sorey furrowed his eyebrows.

 

“It’s fine. His calls are never nice it just… Rattled me. He always knows how to get to me.” Mikleo scrunched his face up with disgust. Sorey had only talked to Mikleo about his Uncle over the phone, and at the time Mikleo was sobbing and talking about everything and nothing at the same time, so it was strange, to see Mikleo’s facial expressions.

 

“Why did you pick up then?”

 

“Everyone knows you pick up when Michael calls.” Mikleo deadpanned. “God knows what will happen if you don’t.” He shut his eyes. Sorey found this hard to believe, but due to the look on Mikleo’s face, he did.

 

“Should I ask you what he said?” Sorey blinked.

 

 _Michael._ Mikleo had never spoken his name before.

 

“No.” Mikleo said bluntly, and the turned over again. Sorey sighed, not pulling him back completely but instead leaving some distance, and pulling up Mikleo’s shirt. He flinched, and then began to roll back over.

 

“Wha-“

 

Sorey pushed him back and ran his fingers up Mikleo’s back, feeling him shiver as he made his way up to Mikleo’s shoulder, and began to message it gently. Mikleo released a relieved sigh, and then an appreciative hum.

 

~

 

“I don’t get this.” Edna said, slamming her pencil down.

 

“Alisha and I have explained it to you like, five times Edna.” Rose said. Everyone knew Edna hated math. Actually, she hated school in general, so this did not come as a surprise. Sergei had tried to explain but Edna yelled at him before he could even get a word out, and Lailah knew better than to get involved with this.

 

“Meebo needs to hurry up and _wake up from his beauty sleep.”_ And then she made a face. “I bet they’re not even sleeping, they’re probably just being disgustingly sweet.”

 

“I don’t know,” Zaveid sighed. “Mikleo actually sounded pretty exhausted.”

 

“Probably because the poor thing never sleeps,” Lailah sighed.

 

“Then maybe he should do that.” Rose deadpanned bluntly. Lailah sighed again, and sat up from her laptop to look at the ceiling briefly.

 

“He… Really can’t.” She said softly. “Nightmares, his natural way of overthinking, insomnia, the fact that he’s a morning person, the fact that he loves the moon, loves the night, it all adds up and he can’t sleep no matter how hard he tries…” Her voice trailed off.

 

“Sorey helps though.” Edna said, her voice uncharacteristically soft. This made everyone in the room turn to look at her in surprise, except for Lailah, the only one besides here Mikleo and perhaps Sorey who had heard a tone like this come out of her throat before. “Not just… With everything. He really helps.” And then looked to Lailah, “More than me, you, or maybe even her ever could.”

 

Silence passed over the room. Lailah and Edna were basically speaking in code now to everyone else. Edna recovered, clearing her throat and taking back on her usual teasing tone. “Well, it keeps him from crawling into my bed anyway. He’s such a big cuddler, it gets hot during the summer.” She grumbled. Lailah smiled from ear to ear.

 

“Oh~?” She chuckled. “But you’re the one who drags him there half the time…” She teased, placing a finger on her chin and turning her head to the side, blinking her pale eyelashes innocently. Edna blushed bright red, slamming a hand down on the table. “And who’s a big cuddler? You’re just as bad if not worse!”

 

“S-Shut up!” Edna stuttered. Everyone was trying very, very hard not to laugh, knowing the first person who did got _“cause of death: Impaled by (not so) cute little girl’s umbrella”_ on their gravestone.

 

Things after that continued on normally. Edna decided just to skip what she didn’t get until Mikleo woke up. Two hours passed, making two and a half hours since they arrived, when Sorey finally emerged from his room, hair dripping from a shower.

 

“Hi!” He called enthusiastically.

 

“Sorey, are you good at math?” Edna deadpanned immediately.

 

“Um… No…” Sorey said sheepishly, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck out of habit.

 

“Boo.” She replied and stabbed the paper with her pencil.

 

“Is… Mikleo still asleep?” Lailah said gently, even her beginning to fear for her life at Edna’s growing anger. Sorey blinked at her and gave her a blank look.

 

“Yeah, he’s passed out. But I think he’ll probably get up soon.”

 

 _“He better,”_ Edna grumbled under her breath, and Sorey went into the kitchen to make himself coffee. Alisha giggled softly.

 

“Um…” Sergei whispered quietly, elbowing Alisha in the side gently. Alisha turned to him, only to find his face inches away from hers. Her face burned, turning a deep shade of red before she turned away.

 

“W-What? Do you not get something?” She mumbled.

 

“Well, yes, but it’s not about school.” Sergei said softly, straightening himself out. Alisha blinked at him, and tilted her head as an incentive for him to continue. “Why was Mikleo sleeping over here? I mean… Didn’t he go home last night? Why would he come back here?”

 

Zaveid, who was sitting on the edge of the couch and took the other side of Sergei, slapped the man on the back, making even Sergei grunt. “Dude, you’re even denser than me.”

 

“What… Is that supposed to mean?”

 

Alisha giggled. “Well Sergei-“

 

“No don’t tell him.” Edna said bluntly. Alisha blinked at her in surprise, and Edna looked back up, a huge smirk on her face. “I want to see his face when he figures it out.”

 

Alisha smiled and then nodded. Sergei made an upset face at her that clearly screamed, _save me,_ but Alisha ignored it.

 

Another hour and a few minutes passed before Mikleo finally emerged, all in the glory of Sorey’s huge sweatpants and sweatshirt and his hair in a little tiny bun on the top of his head, so that it didn’t get wet when he showered, he didn’t feel like having wet hair dripping all over “his” sweatshirt in the cold weather. And, much to everyone’s surprise, he was wearing his rarely seen violet glasses.

 

In other words, he looked like a dork.

 

Sorey turned to Mikleo from his spot on the chair. “I didn’t even know you wore glasses, Mikleo…” His voice was full of awe, and his eyes were raking over Mikleo’s appearance. Mikleo reached up and rubbed his eyes sleepily with his long sleeves, shoving his glasses as he did so. Sorey had to bite his lip in order to not squeal form the pure amount of cuteness.

 

“Mm. I just always wear contacts…” He said sleepily, taking his hands away from his eyes and fixing his glasses on his face. “I slept with my contacts in and they hurt really badly this morning, and I had my glasses in my back pocket, and somehow, miraculously, they didn’t break so I put them on.” He grumbled. “I’m practically blind without them.”

 

“He’ll seriously run into things if he doesn’t have glasses or contacts in. It’s pretty funny.” Edna snickered. Mikleo only managed to send her a lazy glare in return.

 

He yawned, “I’m albino so it’s expected I have some kind of eye problem. It’s amazing I don’t have more problems, and that it’s always cloudy here since I’m a bit sensitive to light…” He trailed off sleepily.

 

“Mikleo maybe you should go back to bed, you look like you’re about to topple over.” Sorey said softly. Mikleo glared at him, it was slightly more impressive than the one he sent Edna.

 

“I just have to wake up.” He grumbled, trudging into the kitchen.

 

“When you come back you’re helping me with this!” Edna screamed after him. Mikleo made a sound of acknowledgement and waved his hand in return.

 

When he returned with coffee and not tea everyone was extremely concerned.

 

~

 

Alisha ended up walking home with Sergei. It was a long walk to home, but she had decided not to drive anyway. She needed the exercise. Apparently, Sergei lived in the same neighborhood as her. They both had pretty wealthy families, or, what Alisha considered her family, which was really just Maltran.   

 

As they walked and chatted her eyes kept flickering over to Sergei. He spoke a lot like Sorey, bright and positive, only much more mature and well thought. He seemed to be a person who liked to “follow his heart”, but unlike Sorey didn’t rely on instincts. As a result of that, he was, put mildly, a bit dense.

 

But it was cute, and he walked proudly. He had a nice build, he was built a bit bigger than Sorey… He was almost…

 

Attractive.

 

Alisha’s face suddenly exploded into flames, and she stuttered out the response to the question he had asked her awkwardly, he stared at her, but simply decided to ignore it and smile.

 

She liked that. She liked how he just kept moving.

 

~

 

“Edna,” Mikleo said softly.

 

“Yes, Mikleo?” Edna quipped in response, her umbrella open despite the fact that it was neither raining nor particularly sunny. She tapped it on her shoulder. They were walking home, Mikleo still in Sorey’s clothes. He would actually give these ones back, probably, maybe, if Sorey begged like a puppy enough.

 

“He called last night.” Mikleo came to a stop.

 

Silence. And then he began to shake, and his teeth began to chatter.

 

“H-He’s going to do something.” Mikleo said wrapping his arms around his torso, his eyes wide and haunted. Like big empty saucers. “Edna why now… Why does he decide to screw with everything n-ow…” He choked. Edna looked at the boy up and down, who seemed to be making himself as small as possible without actually sitting down and curling up in a tiny ball.

 

She yanked his hand away from his torso, causing him to yelp. She pulled him forward, making him stumble behind her as she walked. “I told you last time and I followed through. So now that you know that I mean it, I’ll say it again.”

 

She turned back to him, teal eyes full of burning determination, hatred, protectiveness. “He’s not touching you.” She paused.

 

“You’re not allowed to go back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly when I started this I was like "this will probably just be 10 or 11 chapters 15 MAX" and now we're on chapter... 18? W/ over 50k words and 177 pages and I'm just like "I have so much to dEVELOP"
> 
> Anyway... thank you guys for sticking with me through this! This fic is honestly such a mess but it's been such a huge learning experience for me and I'll be really proud and sad when I finish it :,)


	19. Blessed Chaos

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS FIC HAS 91 KUDOS what
> 
> *is taking all self control not to turn this into a sappy speech*

The school week flew by too fast.

 

Everything was finally starting to catch up to Sorey. His difficult courses, living completely alone with only the occasional help of Mikleo or Zenerus (at merely 16), having never lived in a big city before. He often found his thoughts drifting to dark places, and had to catch himself from spacing out or getting negative.

 

Mikleo had (somehow) managed to drag him away from studying for an oncoming test on a Saturday and was now tugging him through the town’s shopping center they visited with Alisha last week. It was a bit of a cloudy day, as it always seemed to be in Ladylake. The clouds and sticky air were taunting and daring rain, but yet, Sorey knew from experience the rain would not come.

 

The weather wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. It was comfortable, and made Sorey want to curl up under a bunch of covers, which was even more reason that he should be studying now.

 

He probably knew.

 

“You know Sorey,” Mikleo said, entangling their fingers. Sorey found himself absentmindedly caressing a finger across Mikleo’s silk smooth skin. “There’s a really nice historical museum around here, have you been to it?”

 

Sorey’s eyes widened like saucers, and his hand instinctually tightened with excitement. “No! Why didn’t I know about this?” A smile quirked on Mikleo’s lips as he watched Sorey’s eyes light up with sparkles. It took everything he beheld not to giggle or allow his smile to become sickeningly sweet. It wasn’t uncommon for Sorey to remind him of a puppy. Not that he really liked puppies, or dogs in general, but Sorey could be an exception. Because he didn’t bark, or drool or bite…

 

Mikleo smirked, “Oh? So you really didn’t know…” He hummed. “Well… Just that just means I’m way ahead of you on my theories.” He smiled triumphantly.

 

Sorey gasped, and then frowned childishly. “I’ll have you know,” he whined. “That I have very good intuition. I will walk into those rooms and immediately have brilliant theories.” He tilted his chin up, only to have to look down at Mikleo out of the corner of his eye as his lover snorted, covering his mouth with a pale hand and smirking.

 

“Oh theories you will have Sorey. Brilliant ones? Questionable.”

 

“Mikleo!” Sorey gasped. “Just take me to the museum!” He whined. For only a split second did a soft expression cross Mikleo’s face, but Sorey caught it, and returned it. Mikleo then turned forward, and released his hand to walk ahead of Sorey.

 

“Sounds like a date, then.”

 

Sorey stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, watching the pretty boy walking farther and farther ahead of him at a brisk pace. His jeans clinging to his lean legs tightly and his loose shirt somehow still managing to show off his curves, making his unusually feminine hips sway while his loose hair, which was full of fluttery curls from the humidity, bounced gracefully.

 

Sorey pondered his word choice.

 

“H-Hey!” Sorey yelled, running up to him with growingly hot cheeks. “Is this really a date or were you actually just using that as an expression? Hey, Mikleo, _hey!”_

~

 

“It’s kind of annoying that you have to walk through the café to get to the exit…” Sorey pouted.

 

“And yet, it works, because clearly here we are.” Mikleo sighed from his place from beside Sorey. Mikleo shrugged then, “In any case, I work here during the summer a lot.” He poked at his tea cup, trying to see if it was still scalding hot.

 

“Really?” Sorey asked, cocking his head.

 

“Mm,” Mikleo hummed. “You have to eighteen or older to work in the actual museum, so I work here instead. And then get discounts at the museum as a bonus.” He began running his finger around the rim of his cup, resting a hand under his chin whilst staring unfocused into the distance.

 

“Whoa! That’s kind of cool!” Sorey said while grabbing his cup of coffee from the barista’s hands, and settling it down gently on the counter. They were sitting on wooden stools. The wood deep and old looking and the leather on top dyed a deep burgundy. It fit the museum’s atmosphere well.

 

“You’re entrained too easily.” Sorey suddenly began to choke, but Mikleo didn’t even offer him a glance, knowing he had been simply too impatient and drank the coffee while it was still scalding. “It’s just something for me to do. I hate sitting around.” Mikleo began taping his fingers thoughtfully on the counter with the hand that his chin wasn’t resting on.

 

“O-Oh?” Sorey eventually managed to choke out. Mikleo finally offered him a bored glance, and was glad he did, because the boy’s eyes were watering and he looked mildly like he was dying. It was pretty funny looking.

 

Mikleo finally brought his tea to his lips, and then settled it back down in his lap after taking a sip. “Sorey,” he said gently. “How have you doing lately?”

 

Sorey flinched. He paused a moment, hands tightening around the burning hot cup. He looked to Mikleo, only able to offer him a tight lipped smile. “I’m that transparent, huh.”

 

Mikleo hummed for a second, deep glowing eyes sweeping back and forth over Sorey. Unlike when they first met, Mikleo no longer tried to hide these observant looks, and instead allowed himself to stare at Sorey for as long as he wanted.

 

“I don’t think anyone else has noticed.” He finally sighed, taking a big gulp of tea. The café was quiet, but no one was listening to them. The baristas and bakers were chatting behind the counter, far away enough for them to be present but not important. “But yes,” Mikleo continued. “You’re extremely transparent.”

 

Sorey groaned, “Sorry…” He mumbled. Mikleo sent him a death glare, and Sorey blinked, and then gasped. “S-Sorry I didn’t mean to apologize- N-No… Wait…”

 

Mikleo began to burst into a little fit of giggles and snickers. It was something that never failed to make Sorey’s chest warm, even in moments like now, where his cheeks were burning with embarrassment. They were always soft, not necessarily girly or polite, but not loud and out of control either.

 

“Well…” Mikleo said, finally regaining his composure.  He gave Sorey a blank look, and then looked back down and sighed. “If you don’t want to tell me, that’s fine. Just don’t overwork yourself.” He grumbled.

 

“Got, it!” Sorey chirped, tilting Mikleo’s chin up and leaning over to give him a kiss on his cheek. He let his warm lips linger on Mikleo’s cool cheek a bit longer than usual, and also pressed harder than what was average for them.

 

He dusted his thumb along Mikleo’s chin carefully as he finally pulled away, and then moved his hand. There were some gasps and then some titters from the girls behind the counter, and Mikleo turned away in attempt to obscure his burning cheeks, which worked, but also failed because Sorey could still see his bright red ears. He brought his cup to his lips, and took a big gulp.

 

“W-Whatever…”

 

~

 

Sorey didn’t listen.

 

Well, it wasn’t so much that he didn’t listen as he didn’t know his limits. He wasn’t purposefully overworking himself, he just didn’t know how to stop when his head started throbbing, or his eyelids got droopy and his limbs became heavy.

 

Suddenly Sorey’s phone began to ring. Sorey jumped out of his daze, eyes coming into focus as he scrambled out of his chair, head pounding as he got a terrible head rush from sitting in the same position for so long. He snatched his phone off of the coffee table and answered without looking at the contact.

 

 _“Did I wake you?”_ Came a soft voice, Mikleo’s voice.

 

“…No?” Sorey said. “Do you need something?” He plopped down on the couch, prepared to talk for however long was needed.

 

 _“Oh?”_ Mikleo said, like a parent who had finally caught their child in a guilty act. _“So you were awake?”_

 

“Yeah?” Sorey said. Wait, what time was it?

 

_“What were you doing?”_

 

“…Studying….”

 

Sorey’s guilt was steadily increasing for reasons unknown.

 

 _“Sorey,_ it is 1:30 AM go to bed _.”_

“Huh…” Sorey said sleepily, and then the words registered. “Eh?!?! Really?!” He suddenly yelled into the phone. He put it down briefly to look at the time, gaping when he saw Mikleo was correct. He put it back up to his ear hastily as he heard Mikleo’s voice begin again.

 

“Yes, _Sorey._ Real-lly.” Mikleo said. He was agitated.

 

“I-I’m sorry I lost track of time-!” Sorey squeaked. Mikleo grumbled something under his breath and silence fell on the line for a bit. “I haven’t been sleeping well anyway lately anyway though so…” He said softly.

 

There was a soft sigh, _“Why didn’t you tell me?”_ The voice trembled with a mix of anger, worry and sadness. It made Sorey’s heart do a bit more than twinge.

 

“S-Sor-“

 

 _“Don’t. Apologize.”_ Mikleo snapped. Sorey flinched. He sighed again, realizing his mistake, as if he could see Sorey flinch and they weren’t talking over the phone. _“Look, Sorey.”_ He said with forced control. _“I… Just… Tell me when somethings wrong okay? I understand if you don’t want to tell me the specifics, it can be as vague as ‘I don’t feel well’. Just. Tell me…”_ His voice softened into sadness, anger dissipating more and more as he spoke. It was worse, the sadness was much worse for Sorey than the anger.

 

“Okay… I’ll… Try.” Sorey said.

 

 _“Thank you, that’s good enough for now.”_ Mikleo responded, and then there was a pause. _“You can always come over to my house when you can’t sleep, by the way, since I break into yours and Edna said you can come whenever.”_

 

Sorey chewed on his lip for a moment, hesitating. “Can I come now…?”

 

A loud, exasperated sigh from the other end of the line. _“Sorey, why is that even a question?”_

Sorey beamed, “I’ll take that as a yes!” He chirped, his energy apparently refilled with such simple words, and then he hung up.

 

~

 

Mikleo sat in his windowsill. It was his favorite feature of his room, and why he had chosen a room one over from Edna’s, instead of the one right next to hers. He couldn’t see the moon, it was setting on the other side of the house, but the stars were almost as nice, and the gentle night breeze put his straying thoughts at ease.

 

It was often the only thing that had gotten him through the dark, lonely nights.

 

He heard footsteps coming up the stairs. He raised his head, watching the old door expectantly for his lover. He tilted his head to the side curiously as the door creaked open, and Sorey slipped in. Dark hair all poofed up on top of his head and tired eyes glowing in the bright starlight.

 

Mikleo slid his window shut, but left the curtain open and didn’t bother to lock it. He slipped gracefully out of the windowsill, walking across the bed, his feet sliding over the silky sheets and furrowing into the fluffy blanket as he moved to sit down in the middle of it, and then patted the empty space beside him.

 

Sorey slowly padded over, crawling under the covers and nuzzling his nose in-between Mikleo’s thigh and the mattress as the boy continued to sit crossed-legged. After a moment Sorey spoke, “Shouldn’t you sleep too? You’re the one who was nagging me.” Sorey pouted sleepily, lazily poking Mikleo in the ribs before letting his hand fall into his lap.

 

Mikleo reached his hand into Sorey’s messy hair, beginning to message it with the pads of his fingers and earning a low, satisfied hum. “I’ll have a nightmare.”

 

“You don’t know that.” Sorey grumbled, trying desperately to stay coherent to finish his argument.

 

“I can tell when I’ll have one.”

 

Sorey grumbled something incoherent and his shoulders relaxed as his lungs began huffing a softer, steadier rhythm.

 

~

 

“Mikleo!” Edna screamed, bursting into said person’s room. The sun was mostly risen, but not completely, and it was filtering through the open blinds and glowing on Mikleo’s white hair, which seemed to always be so easily painted with the colors of the sky.

 

The blankets were only covering his legs, and he had a book in one hand, his arm sprawled across Sorey’s chest and the rest of him halfway on top of him. Sorey turned towards Edna, blinking at her once and then color filling his cheeks.

 

“Oh, hi Sorey.” She deadpanned. Mikleo lifted himself off of his lover as Edna stomped across the room, shoving the phone at him. Mikleo took it from her, blinking for a second when he saw the contact name.

 

_Zaveid_

_Call duration: 30:15_

Mikleo put the phone to his ear hesitantly, “Hello?”

 

 _“Mikey-boy!”_ Immediately came a booming voice. Mikleo flinched away from the phone, it was far too early for Zaveid to be this loud.

 

“Did you wake Edna up?” Was all Mikleo said in reply, eyeing the fuming girl warily. Waking Edna up was like waking up the Devil, only ten times scarier and instead of a trident she had an umbrella. Which in Mikleo’s opinion, hurt a lot more when she hit hard enough.

 

 _“Oh yeah, she was pretty pissed about that.”_ Mikleo groaned and rubbed his forehead.

 

“What do you want?”

 

 _“Aye, cutting right to the chase.”_ There was a pause. _“So basically, I got kicked out of my apartment.”_

Mikleo groaned.

 

_“Before you ask why, I couldn’t pay my bills.”_

Mikleo groaned louder.

 

_“And before you’re ask what you have to do with this, it has to do with Eizen.”_

 

Mikleo stopped groaning, his attention suddenly caught.

 

 _“So basically…”_ Zaveid yawned. _“I called Eizen like, five times. I’ve been trying to get in contact for forever, ever since he left ya’ll after Christmas.”_ Mikleo flinched. _“Finally I just went ‘fuck it’ and texted him that I got kicked out of my house. He replied.”_

Mikleo’s eyes widened, and he pressed the phone harder against his ear, as if it would make him unable to miss a single word Zaveid said. _“He told me that if I got a ‘proper job’, Edna didn’t kick me into the next universe and you didn’t send books raining down on my head I could stay with you guys and help with everything.”_

Mikleo paused for a second. Trying to compute everything all at once as his brain over-processed the situation trying to come up with a logical answer to all of his questions.

 

Finally he just looked up at Edna and said, “So, are you and are you not going to kick him into the next universe if he comes?”

 

Edna snorted, Zaveid burst out laughing, Sorey stared at him looking incredibly confused.

 

“He can stay,” Edna grumbled, to Mikleo’s surprise. “If, he can cook and clean when you’re busy.”

 

Mikleo sighed and grumbled under his breath something like, _“You could do that yourself, you know.”_ And then he paused, thinking about it.

 

“You can come stay for a while.” There was a genuinely surprised gasp on the other end of the line. _“If,”_ Mikleo said firmly, and there was a loud groan. “You help me around the house, help Edna with her schoolwork and buy some of the groceries with that job you’re getting because I’m almost out of summer money.”

 

There was a pause on the other end of the line, and then a hum.

 

_“Deal.”_

Mikleo sighed gratefully, and despite the fact that Zaveid’s presence should be more work, Mikleo had been stressing what to do about money.

 

During the school year Eizen always stuck around more to help. Buying them groceries, general necessities, whatever. But Eizen hadn’t _been here_ which left Mikleo the choice of getting a part time job, while taking high level classes and already running on very few hours of sleep, while having a sister to take care of, and having an over-sized house to clean.

 

So despite the fact the Mikleo knew deep in his heart that total and utter chaos was about to ensue, he felt a little bit blessed.

 

“Fantastic,” Mikleo sighed.

 

 _“Be there in 30 minutes bye!”_ Zaveid said quickly.

 

“W-Wait!” But the call had already hung up. Mikleo set the phone down in his lap, glaring at it like it had just caused WW IIII. He looked up at Edna grumpily. “He’ll be here in 30 minutes.”

 

“Well, he’ll just have to move himself in then.” Edna deadpanned and grabbed her orange phone back, her little Normin plush swinging from the aux plug.

 

“What room are we putting him in?” He called after Edna.

 

“Not Eizen’s!” She yelled back, already slamming the door behind her.

 

Which left the room in-between him and Edna.

 

“What’s… Happening?” Mikleo turned, looking at the mess of brown bed head beside him. _Oh,_ he thought. He had totally forgotten that Sorey was here.

 

“Long story short,” Mikleo said, crawling overtop of Sorey to get out of bed. “Zaveid got kicked out of his house and is staying with us for god knows how long in exchange for me forcing him to actually do work.”

 

“…Oh?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you know me
> 
> You know that Edna/Zaveid/Mikleo is my brotp
> 
> (*casually starts ten things in the plot at once*)


	20. Confidence, Communication and Care

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS CHAPTER IS REALLY LONG OKAYY (no seriously it's like 15 pages most of these are 10 sometimes 7) It made it a lot harder to proof read so if there are any typos yell at me thank youuuuu
> 
> Also this has 200 pages now wow okay

Mikleo continued to walk away from his bed and to his closet. Sorey blinked at him in disbelief, words still processing as Mikleo flung open his closet doors, glared at his clothes for a moment, and then proceeded to grumble something about being genderfluid made picking clothes impossible, only with more Japanese cursing that Sorey didn’t understand.

 

Sorey’s phone began to ring on the bedside table. He floundered in the tangled sheets, trying to reach for it and once again proceeding with his bad habit of not looking at the contact name before he picked up.

 

“Gramps!” He yelled into the phone, Mikleo sighed from across the room.

 

“Yeah… Sorry for not calling you lately. Everything is a bit chaotic. Uh no, I’m not at our house right now actually I’m at Mikleo’s.”

 

There was silence for a moment and Mikleo finally took the liberty of plunging into the little bag of stuff Lailah and Rose had gotten him while shopping. He still felt guilty about that, he was definitely going to pay them back. No matter how much Lailah and Rose told him to consider it a late Christmas present, since they didn’t get him one.

 

“Wa- Gramps!” Sorey shrieked, his face burning red. Mikleo tilted his head at the loud noise, glancing out of the closet to make sure his lover was still alive, when that was confirmed, and his flustered face was burned into his brain, he turned back to the bag, beginning to pull things out of the rough recyclable paper.

 

“School is fine…” Sorey continued, but Mikleo tuned him out, staring in awe as he shifted through the pretty clothing. Lailah and him had always had a similar style, hers was just a bit brighter, and a bit more frilly, so all they had to do to shop for each other is take each other’s style and kick it up a couple of notches in the opposite direction. They were both fairly classy, but not in a traditional sense, and their clothing was usually mature with a bit of a twist. When push came to shove though, him and Lailah could basically look good in anything, so there’s that.

 

He turned on his own phone. 29 degrees F with a high of 35, cloudy, chance of rain that probably wasn’t going to happen. He shrugged. Chilly, but pretty average for Ladylake in the winter.

 

Alisha had apparently gotten a gift card for a fairly nice restaurant for her adoptive mother, Maltran, for Christmas. It was getting close to its expiration date, and she wanted to take everyone. So they were all going to go this evening. Alisha said that they didn’t have to dress too nice, but to look put together and presentable…

 

“Are you having trouble picking because of dinner tonight?”

 

Mikleo jerked, his legs sliding out from underneath of him from his crouched position and he just accepted his fate as he flopped down awkwardly with his legs splayed to the side.

 

He looked back at the curious green eyes. Sorey was kneeling down behind him, and shuffled forward next to him. “Is this the stuff Rose and Lailah gave you?” He asked, moving down so his knees were also on the ground, and sitting on top of his feet. He was eyeing the brown bag along with the clothes sitting around it. Mikleo hummed, grabbing the dress Lailah bought (he assumed it was Lailah, considering it was nothing along Rose’s taste) and began folding it, putting it into its proper place on the bottom shelf on the left, right by where he was sitting. He continued to fold the rest, Sorey watching him.

 

“I’ll probably just put something comfy on for now and worry about it later.” He mumbled. Sorey stood up, having never really gotten a good look at Mikleo’s closet, and backing up.

 

The closet itself wasn’t that big, but the amount of storage it had was. It had four big shelves on both sides, and hanging space in the middle. The middle was completely filled with beautiful dresses, all of which looked too small, except maybe a couple on the end of the line.

 

“My mother made all of those.” It was Sorey’s turn to flinch in surprise, stumbling sideways to look at Mikleo, who had appeared to stand beside him at some point while he was thinking, his arms full of a pink sweatshirt and what looked like normal gray sweatpants underneath. Mikleo smiled softly, “I couldn’t get rid of any of them. Even though almost all of them are too small.”

 

He walked back up to the closet, shifting through them. He finally grabbed the third to last and second to last at the end, towards the right side. “These two I could probably squeeze into.” He dropped them, and then eyed the last one on the line. “This one though…” He pulled at the bottom of the dress, pulling it out of the line to look at it. It was a pretty deep blue sundress, with 3/4 bell sleeves. The back laced up, and the front was simple but appropriate. The bottom was pretty and flowy, but not frilly or overdone. The material looked especially hard to work with.

 

“She made it for when I was older.” He said quietly. “While she was making it, she told me if she kept making things to fit perfectly while I was growing so much it would become a full time job…” His voice trailed off.

 

“But it was like,” he bit his lip, dropping the dress and scooting back. “She knew she would be gone.”

 

Sorey stepped forward to stand beside the boy. He grabbed Mikleo’s cheeks gently, cupping his face and making him turn towards him.

 

“You’re crying.”

 

“Huh?” Mikeo said, blinking, and only then noticing how sticky tears gathered on his lashes, obscuring his vision as his cheeks became wet and warm, tears streaming down his face silently and gathering around Sorey’s hands, instead of falling down to his chin. He blinked harder, as if trying to make them go away, but they just continued to spill through his closed eyes.

 

Mikleo sniffled, reaching a hand up in desperate attempt to wipe them away, but Sorey hit his hand, batting it away and instead wiping them away gently with his thumb as they continued to spill down his cheek. Mikleo blinked again, water droplets now resting on the top of his lashes as Mikleo leaned into Sorey’s touch, fluttering his lashes more rapidly and tilting his head at his lover.

 

It was oddly beautiful.

 

“I’m fine,” Mikleo mumbled, suddenly pulling away a bit. “This-this… Just still happens sometimes.” He moved his head away completely, shaking it and dropping his clothes on the ground in attempt to rub his eyes. When he finally pulled his hands away he attempted to give Sorey a reassuring smile. Which would’ve been scarily convincing if there weren’t still tears streaming down his face.

 

“Hey,” Sorey said softly, grabbing his face again and threading a hand through his silky bangs to pull them back, and placing a gentle kiss on his forehead. Mikleo giggled a bit underneath of him, to his relief. Sorey pressed their noses together, watching in satisfaction as his eyes softened. He began wordlessly wiping under Mikleo’s eyes, smearing the tears before they could stain his cheeks.

 

They stood like that for a couple of minutes. Mostly in silence, besides Mikleo’s periodic sniffles. Finally Mikleo pulled away, and Sorey dropped his hands and let him pick up his clothes.

 

“Better?” Sorey said softly. Mikleo raised his head, giving him a small smile.

 

“Much,” he whispered. “Thanks.”

 

~

 

Mikleo was quietly cleaning his room, now changed and put together, and Sorey was immersed in a book. All was well, all was silent. The wind was blowing peacefully through a crack in Mikleo’s window and the blinds were fluttering ever so gently.

 

“MIKEY-BOY!!”

 

The door burst open, followed by pounding footsteps and Mikleo being swept off his feet from behind, left dangling several inches off the ground.

 

“Wow,” Zaveid said, turning around and casually taking Mikleo with him. “I don’t think I’ve ever been in your room before. You’re really neat aren’t you?” Sorey peaked over his book to look at Zaveid, quirking an eyebrow and giving him that blank look people give you when they think you’re absolutely insane. Zaveid finally caught sight of him. “Oh hi Sorey!”

 

“Zaveid. Put me down.”

 

“Ah, right, right.” Zaveid said, settling Mikleo back onto his own feet and allowing him to brush himself off. “What are you doing here so early Sorey?” And then he smirked, waggling his eyebrow. “Where you two having some fun- eek!” He yelped as Mikleo launched for him, attempting to grab him as Zaveid only sidestepped easily. “Scary, does Mikleo not like talking about his sex life?” He continued to prod. Mikleo huffed, finally giving up after Zaveid sidestepped for the fifth time.

 

“Shut up!” He snapped. “I’m only sixteen! And some people aren’t perverts like you.” He grumbled.

 

“You’re allowed to fuck people when you’re sixteen in Japan- OUCH!” Mikleo finally succeeded on smooshing Zaveid’s foot. “Anyway,” Zaveid said, scratching the back of his head and looking around. He placed a hand on his naked hip as he took in surroundings. “We’re roommates now, huh?”

 

“Yes. And Zaveid?” Zaveid’s eyes locked back on Mikleo, blinking at him innocently.

 

“What?”

 

“Put a shirt on.”

 

~

 

Mikleo was cleaning the kitchen countertops when Sorey walked over, tapping his lover on the shoulder.

 

“I can do that sweetheart.”

 

Mikleo looked tired, even if he was trying not to show it. He hadn’t bothered to put on any sort of makeup, so his eye bags showed on his pale face, and his deep amethyst eyes looked a bit glazed. The energy in his step was gone, and he was wiping the counters mindlessly, not really paying attention to what he was doing. Which was especially concerning, since he was a vigorous cleaner.

 

“Thank you,” Mikleo mumbled, handing the towel to Sorey and exiting the kitchen to sit down on the couch for a moment. Zaveid was there playing on his phone. He still hadn’t put on a shirt, his platinum blonde hair was tumbling all down his shoulders and chest, and his long bangs were hanging all in front of his face. The green tips at the ends were starting to fade, Mikleo mused, he would need to get it dyed again soon.

 

 “He’s a keeper.” Zaveid said, leaning back on the couch and finally putting his phone down. He yawned, “You two are already like an old married couple.”

 

“Mm,” was all Mikleo hummed in response, flopping down on the couch. Zaveid eyed him worryingly.

 

“Hey kid,” Mikleo cracked an eye open to look at him. His head had been leaning back, and his eyes closed. Not dozing, but thinking. “Do you really usually clean this entire house yourself?”

 

“Mm,” he said again, only this time it was more of a mix between a whine in a groan, even if he hadn’t meant it to be. He tilted his head back down, rubbing his eyes with the base of his palms, trying to wake himself up. “Well,” he continued, taking his hands away and looking forward tiredly instead. “Eizen used to help. Edna has tried, but she just makes it worse, honestly.”

 

Zaveid placed a hand on Mikleo’s head. Mikleo glanced up, surprised at the affectionate and gentle gesture. “When you need help, just tell me.” Then he beamed proudly. “I may not look it, but I can actually do a fairly decent job cleaning.”

 

“Uh-huh, I’m sure.” Mikleo said dryly, taking Zaveid’s hand off his head. The relieved look in his eye gave him away, though.

 

“Seriously though Mikleo,” they both looked up to see Sorey spinning the towel over his finger, standing in the entryway to the kitchen. “You say I overwork myself. You’re going to pass out again.”

 

Mikleo huffed, “If you’re worried about me overworking myself then clean _your own_ house so _I_ don’t have to clean it.”

 

Sorey sighed, “I _do clean it.”_

_“Not well enough.”_

“See? See? This is your problem. I think we should get him checked for obsessive compulsive disorder.” Sorey groaned.

 

 _“That’s not how OCD works, Sorey.”_ Mikleo snapped. Sorey and Zaveid both rolled their eyes.

 

“Whatever you say,” they both said at the same time.

 

“Man,” Zaveid said, putting his hands behind his head and kicking his bare feet up on the coffee table, even as Mikleo sent him death glares. “I don’t know how you two lived without each other for sixteen years. You’d both be a wreck without the other.”

 

They both kind of blinked at Zaveid, and then paused, appearing to think. “Honestly,” Mikleo began.

 

“I have no idea.” They said at the exact same time. And then turned to each other, blinked, and giggled. Zaveid’s lips quirked.

 

“Now,” Mikleo said, plopping his head down onto the soft fluffy pillow, which was resting at the end of the couch. “Weren’t you cleaning the counters for me?” He pouted, sticking his lower lip out pitifully.

 

“Oh right!” Sorey yelped, darting back into the kitchen and resuming his duty. Mikleo shut his eyes, curling up in a ball and nuzzling into the pillow. He felt the weight shift on the couch and Zaveid’s exiting steps, but didn’t think much of it.

 

That is, until the steps returned and something soft was lied over top of him. Mikleo’s eyes fluttered open, and he was immediately met with molten amber ones only a mere inch or two from his face, holding a completely unreadable expression.

 

Mikleo grabbed the soft blanket, pulling it over himself and snuggling it to his chest.

 

Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad.

 

Maybe this would help.

 

~

 

During the late afternoon Sorey had driven home and changed into nicer clothes, only to drive back. When Edna had asked him why he shrugged and said that he could then drive everyone to the restaurant, and that he liked the company.

 

It was probably a good thing, anyway, because Mikleo had been glaring at his closet for five minutes now and tapping his foot nervously.

 

Sorey sighed, standing up and walking over to Mikleo, stroking his arm. Mikleo looked up at him slowly, showing a surprisingly pained expression. Sorey’s face softened and his hand wrapped around Mikleo’s wrist. “Need help?”

 

Mikleo gnawed on his lip for a second, eyes flickering nervously over to his closet before he began shifting through the left side of his closet, grabbed an outfit that Sorey couldn’t see and rushed into the bathroom.

 

Sorey waited. Grabbing a book off Mikleo’s shelf and sitting by his closet, across from his bathroom. The book was the Celestial Record, soft and worn. He liked to steal it from Mikleo, because there were notes jotted all over it and pieces of paper in it, corrections on old notes and remarks to himself. He didn’t know how long it had been before Mikleo emerged, but when he heard the boy’s footsteps he put his book down, and his jaw dropped.

 

Mikleo was shifting on his feet nervously in the doorway. He was wearing normal black leggings, along with a soft looking gray sweater dress. It hugged his waist, and the design worked well for his non-existent bust, but the bottom of it still fell lose, making it comfortable and not tight-looking. The sleeves were purposefully a bit long, allowing Mikleo to clutch them in his hands, and the neck hung down, folding over itself and showing off Mikleo’s collarbone and graceful neck.

 

Sorey stood up, settling the book down on the ground and Mikleo walked all the way up to Sorey, tilting his head at him. Now that he was closer Sorey could better see the loose, thin French braids on either side of his head, tied back. The rest of his hair was falling down usually underneath of them. He had fixed his eye bags, but didn’t appear to be wearing any other makeup.

 

Mikleo took a step back again. “Well?” He smirked.

 

“Wow.” Was all Sorey replied, because it was the only thing he could think of to say. Mikleo’s eyes glowed for a moment, but he covered it by cocking a white eyebrow.

 

“Wow?” Mikleo deadpanned, and leaned forward to tilt his head up to Sorey, fluttering his eyelashes innocently. “How about, _‘oh Mikleo you’re so beautiful you’re look so good in a dress._ ’”

 

“ _Oh,_ my love,” Sorey began dramatically, only for Mikleo to frown and jab him in the ribs, hard. Sorey yelped, collapsing over himself.

 

“Drama queen,” Mikleo mumbled, before going back into his closet.

 

He pulled out a pair of also soft looking, over-the-knee gray boots. He leaned them against the wall, crossing the room again to open his wardrobe, pulling out socks. “Really though,” he said, turning around. “Do you think this is okay to go to dinner in?”

 

Sorey ran his eyes down over Mikleo again. He himself was wearing a pair of nice jeans, a fancier blue button up and the only pair of boots he owned that were new, and not completely destroyed. Mikleo tilted his head at Sorey, noting that he cleaned up looking just about as good as in his normal clothes.

 

“I don’t see why not?” Sorey said, shrugging at Mikleo. Mikleo smiled a bit, nodding. “As long as you don’t mind being called female pronouns,” Sorey continued, a smirk crossing his face. “Because you _definitely_ look like a girl.”

 

Mikleo huffed, “That’s a good thing.” He grumbled childishly. “ _Kind of_ the point of wearing a dress, Sorey.” Sorey hummed, and then appeared to go into thought for a moment. Mikleo sighed, pulling his brows together to study Sorey, before opening his mouth in preparation to say something.

 

“Would you like it, or mind if I used female pronouns for you sometimes?” Mikleo stopped, blinking at Sorey. “I mean, you said you don’t care what pronouns people use, so I assume you don’t care. And I guess that’s kind of the point of me calling you Princess…”

 

Mikleo blushed, his pale face betraying him as color gained on his cheeks. “That-“ he began. “W-Would be fine,” he said quietly.

 

“What about they?” Sorey asked. Mikleo titled his head.

 

“I told you I don’t care. You can literally call me whatever you want, make up some pronoun for all it matters to me.” Mikleo paused. “Like I said,” he sighed. “I’m male, female and everything in-between. Some genderfluid people care about their pronouns, I don’t. I’m pronoun-apathetic, if you will. I like people to acknowledge my genderfluidity, so it’s sweet when you call me Princess, but in the end…” He looked up at the ceiling, losing his thought in the middle of his sentence.

 

“It’s okay,” Sorey giggled. “I get it.” He said softly, “I just want people to understand what you are, too.”

 

Mikleo smiled at Sorey gently, taking a breath, preparing to say something.

 

“Hey, lovebirds!” Zaveid yelled, banging on the door. “I’m comin’ in!” Zaveid slammed the door open, waltzing into the room like he owned the place. Which, he definitely didn’t. Eizen did. It was written in the papers.

 

“Zaveid,” Mikleo sighed, sending Zaveid an exasperated glare that was also filled with incredible amounts of murderous intent. “Those doors are old, _please don’t pull them off their hinges.”_

 

“Oh, my bad. We have to go though.” He said blandly, and then his eyes caught Mikleo properly, and he ran them up and down his figure, letting out a low whistle. “Wow,” Zaveid said, and Mikleo’s face turned a deep, deep crimson. “You’re not even my type, but you look smoking.” He quirked and eyebrow, and Mikleo spluttered, and then stomped towards his shoes, pulling them on.

 

“S-Shut up.” He grumbled. Sorey laughed, and Zaveid’s eyes flickered over to him, he shrugged.

 

“You don’t look half bad either, but you also look just about the same as you usually do.” He deadpanned. Sorey choked, and Mikleo giggled, bobbing his head in agreement even as Sorey glared at him. Mikleo finished pulling the boots on, completing the look and only succeeding in making himself look even prettier. Sorey wondered what Mikleo looked like when he _really_ dressed up.

 

Mikleo walked over to Zaveid, looking up at his face and tilting his head, and then running his eyes down him. “You don’t look like a slob.” He said bluntly, but he was actually mildly impressed. Zaveid was wearing pointy brown boots, which looked vaguely like cowboy boots, but Mikleo hesitated to call them so. He was wearing nice bell bottom jeans and a black button up, which was not unbuttoned in the middle for once. His hair was pulled into a half ponytail, showing off its thickness and enunciating the green tips.

 

“Why thank you, that’s just as big of a compliment as I can get from you.” Zaveid said, showing off a big smile. Mikleo scowled. “Off we go!” Zaveid yelled, exiting the room and running down the stairs before Mikleo could think twice about his decision to not smack him.

 

Sorey came up behind him, placing a hand on his back and pushing him forward gently. “Let’s go Princess,” he smiled, Mikleo smiled in return.

 

Mikleo ended up driving, only after five minutes of trying to steal the keys from Zaveid, because apparently he was an awful driver and had nearly killed both Mikleo and Edna before. The drive was surprisingly quiet, with Edna sitting in the front beside Mikleo with her headphones on, and Sorey and Zaveid sitting in the back with only occasional bickering.

 

When they finally made it to the restaurant Sorey, Zaveid and Edna practically had to drag Mikleo inside, who appeared to be having last minute thoughts about actually wearing a dress.

 

“Mm,” Sorey hummed, looking around. He was still holding Mikleo’s hand. “Where are they…” He groaned. There were quite a number of people here. Luckily though, the group seemed to be dressed correctly for the occasion, if anything a bit underdressed, which was always better than over, in Sorey’s opinion. Mikleo took a step forward to stand beside Sorey, scanning the area.

 

“Oh,” he said. “Found them.” He tilted his head in a vague direction, and Sorey spun around, looking for them, finally spotting them in the very corner.

 

Lailah caught their eye, and gasping, she stood up, her hands over her mouth as she maneuvered her way away from the table, muttering what Sorey would imagine to be _“excuse me”_ s and _“sorry”_ s. Once free she bolted towards them, her pretty red dress bouncing. It was intricate with pretty designs all over it, some white lace pulled around her stomach and the back tied in a zig zag pattern. It hugged her neck, showing how small it was and the sleeves fell down perfectly at her wrist, white lace with a bit of black hinting at it. There were strings pulling just under her bust in order to show it off subtly, and most impressively, she was wearing red stilettos that she was _sprinting_ in.

 

She stopped at Mikleo, screeching to a stop and clutching his upper arms, eyes sparkling. “You’re wearing a dress!” She cried, and then took a step back, giggling. “Oh my, you look so pretty. And your hair!” She pouted. “It’s getting long enough to do little things like that, hm? Maybe I’ll be able to play with it soon.” She beamed, stepping back forward and fiddling with his hair, putting tiny unnoticeable strands back into their proper place.

 

“You look really pretty, Lailah.” Mikleo said sweetly, eyeing his motherly friend up and down.

 

“Oh, so you’ll tell Lailah she looks nice but no one else, hm?” Edna deadpanned. Mikleo glared at her, and Sorey laughed nervously. Because well, it was true. Mikleo really didn’t openly compliment anyone but Lailah. Just like she was the only one Edna never hit with her umbrella.

 

Lailah giggled. “Thank you sweetheart.” She said gently, and then clapped her hands together. “Now!” She said, like she was reining in a bunch of small children. “Let’s go eat dinner.”

 

~

 

Alisha was attempting to pear around Lailah. She didn’t often get to see her friends dress any more than casual, sometimes dress even less than that. She was honestly quite curious. So far, everyone looked put together, Sergei maybe even a bit over dressed. But she was mildly concerned about Zaveid, who she could vaguely see the green tips of over everyone.

 

Finally they turned around.

 

She was relieved to see that Zaveid looked semi-presentable. His shirt was buttoned anyway, so as far as Alisha was concerned, it was a win. Edna looked cute, she was wearing a white dress that faded into orange at the end, it was simple and loose, along with a pretty white sweater overtop and little boots that actually fit her.

 

Sorey looked about the same as usual, she mused, but when her eyes flickered over to Mikleo, she had to do a double take. He looked, well, beautiful as always. She had always vaguely known that her friend was unnaturally pretty, although she often forgot it. She could see what Sorey saw in him. But what really caught her eye was the dress and the boots. She kept eyeing him up and down, again and again. The dress came just to his thighs, and he had what looked like black leggings underneath along with over-the-knee boots. She heard Rose whistle from beside her, and spun to face her.

 

“Damn Mikleo, you really can pull off a dress.” Rose said once he was close enough. Mikleo rolled his eyes, sighing and sitting down. Lailah giggled.

 

“I told you he could good in anything,” she teased. Zaveid, Sorey and Edna all sat down.

 

“He really does. It’s actually kind of amazing.” Sorey mused. “You too Lailah,” he continued, tilting his head at the girl. “I don’t get how you guys do it.”

 

Lailah giggled sweetly, settling back into her spot at the end of the table beside Rose. She winked at him, “It’s a secret!”

 

Alisha stared around at the table. Everyone seemed to know what was going on but her. Was she over complicating this? Did Mikleo just… Decide to wear a dress? But he had never done anything like that before, the nail polish the other day was the first time he’d never shown any real femininity.

 

Had something changed? She looked up and down at Mikleo, her eyes catching on his loose French braids, which his light hair highlighted well. Maybe, the hair was part of this too? She looked away, not wanting to be caught staring, and eyed Sergei. He didn’t really seem to know what was going on either, but also looked like he had accepted his fate.

 

She wanted to ask, but she also didn’t want to be rude. Mikleo put his hands on his chin and looked at them. His nails were perfectly shaped. They always had been. Her eyes trailed over to his face, over his perfect bangs, over his long thick eyelashes.

 

Maybe… Maybe this was always who Mikleo had been, maybe he was just deciding to be bold about it. Was there are story behind this? Had she ever offended him in any way? Was she even calling him by the right pronouns?

 

“Ma’am? Ma’am?”

 

Sergei tapped her own the shoulder.

 

She jumped, spinning around to look at him. He nodded, at something, and she turned back around to see a waitress. “What would you like to drink, and eat? Your friends here said everyone was ready to go ahead and order…”

 

“Ah-ah!” She squeaked. “Yes, I’m sorry.” She cleared her throat. “Can I have your crab cake?”

 

“Yes ma’am, what would you like as a side?”

 

“The house salad, please.” The waiter nodded, smiling pleasurably before moving on to Sergei.

 

The waiter then waltzed away, probably happy about the simple orders and the fact that she didn’t have to make many trips back to them. Suddenly there was another tap on her shoulder.

 

“Can we talk outside for a moment?” Mikleo said quietly. Alisha nodded quickly, praying to god she hadn’t offended her friend with her staring.

 

They opened the doors and stepped out into the cool air. It was only evening, but the sun was already mostly down. They stood in silence for a while, everything seemed to be still, even the air.

 

“Is it strange?” Mikleo finally said softly. Alisha looked to him, her mouth agape.

 

“T-The dress?” She stuttered. Mikleo nodded. “Well… No… But…” She scrunched her face up, trying to find the words. Finally, she sighed.

 

“It’s not like… I don’t like it. To me it just came out of nowhere, it’s not… Who you are in my mind. I don’t mind you being like this, people can dress however they like. It’s was just a bit strange, that’s all.” Mikleo stared at her in silence, knowing she was not done somehow. She pinched her face, looking forward again. “A-And then, I just started wondering. Was I even calling you the right pronouns? Had I ever offended you? What do you identify as, if anything, or am I just overthinking and you just feel like wearing a dress?”

 

Mikleo giggled. “To answer your questions,” he began. “It’s not a new thing, I’ve always been like this. All pronouns are correct pronouns, so yes. You’ve never offended me. I’m genderfluid, and sometimes I just feel like dressing femininely.”

 

Alisha blinked at him. “I… See.” She said quietly. “Did…” She paused. “Did everyone else know but me?”

 

Mikleo shook his head. “Lailah and Edna only know because they were around when I was confident and bold about it.” Alisha’s eyes widened. Mikleo had lost is confidence? He had done this once before? “I told Sorey because he told me he was pan, Rose figured it out, Zaveid doesn’t really know what I am and doesn’t really care, he just lets me do what I want, which is just fine.” Mikleo shrugged. “Sergei doesn’t know though. And it’s not like I was hiding it from you. If something had ever come up I would’ve mentioned it… Probably.” He scrunched his face up.

 

Alisha sighed. “It… It is fine.” Mikleo turned his head to her, eyes wide. “Your identity is your business, you’re not required to tell anyone, right?” She said softly, smiling at her friend.

 

Mikleo beamed at her, visibly relaxing. “Right.”

 

“One more thing!” Alisha said quickly. Mikleo nodded at her, asking her to go on. “You said you lost your confidence, why?”

 

Mikleo stared at her a moment and then softened. “It’s a long story, and not a simple one. It goes deep, it’s something I don’t like talking about nor something I think I could tell with a straight face.” Alisha nodded.

 

“Okay. It’s just strange.” Mikleo gave her a blank look, confused. “To me, you’re so brave. As brave as they get,” her voice trembled, Mikleo’s eyes widened. “You’ve done so many things I was never brave enough to do.” Tears began to trail down her face. “You’re so amazing it’s so weird to think,” she giggled. “That you would be afraid to just put on a pretty dress. Especially when you look so good in it.”

 

Warm arms wrapped around Alisha. Mikleo didn’t often hug her, but every time it was so nice, so gentle, and so friendly. Her heart bubbled with warmth, and she wrapped her arms around him tighter. Mikleo really was her friend, a very important friend. And although he had once been so hard to understand, just by talking she felt like she got him a little.

 

Mikleo deserved the world, she realized. All of her friends deserved the world, but right now she was focusing on Mikleo.

 

She smiled, because she knew everyone else was already aware of it, and planning on giving it to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love how's everyone's like "Okay, but what about Michael?" 
> 
> And I'm just here like: "let's talk about everything BUT Michael :)))))))))"


	21. Understand You, Understand Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to partially re-write this whoops

 

It was 12:00 at night when Mikleo’s phone rang.

 

His phone didn’t ring often. Not very many people called him, as he didn’t like being on his phone much. He had almost no social media, hardly ever looked at the group chat, and never ever responded to anyone unless his phone buzzed constantly for over three hours. So when the phone rang a pit of dread settled into his stomach.

 

Because we all know only two people would ever call Mikleo. One, would just make him worry about what he was calling about at near midnight. The other, well…

 

You know.

 

So he stared at his phone for a whole minute, knowing it would be just his luck that _you know who_ would call after he just recovered from the last one, and when he was in such a content mood. He watched it vibrate on his bedside table, for his phone’s ringer was never on. The whole table was shaking aggressively, as if screaming at him to _just pick it up._ Mikleo finally reached for it, not wanting to wait for it to stop ringing in fear of what would happen if it did.

 

He did a double take when he saw the contact name. He slid his finger across the phone, putting it up to his ear.

 

Silence.

 

The person on the other end of the line cleared their throat.

 

_“Hello.”_

The voice on the other end of the line was awkward and low, barely an irritated grumble, almost childish if it hadn’t been slightly scary sounding. Mikleo’s jaw almost dropped to the floor. _“No way.”_ He deadpanned. A scoff came from the other end of the line.

 

_“I actually bother to call you and you just-“_

“I’m sorry I just couldn’t believe you actually called on purpose. I thought you… Butt called me, or something.”

 

A low growl, _“Okay, never mind I don’t know why I thought this was a good idea. I’m hanging up.”_

“Oh no you don’t!” Mikleo quipped, his voice a harsh whisper, not wishing to wake Zaveid next door. “I’ve been trying to get in contact with you for _months dammit._ Do you know how often I send people texts? Not very!” He continued to whisper-yell. “So don’t you _dare_ hang up on me, Dezel.”

 

_“Alright,_ Mom.” Dezel groaned.

 

Mikleo rolled his eyes. “What’s wrong?” He said softly. “You must be desperate if you’re actually calling me.”

 

There was a long pause. He could hear Dezel shifting uncomfortably. He had never been good with words, but Mikleo was a patient person, always willing to wait for him to organize himself, to speak, to prepare himself for honesty and not covering everything up with brutal truths and lies. Mikleo also had always liked to talk to Dezel. He was always quiet, until Mikleo was done. Even then he was quiet for a little bit. Then he either yelled at Mikleo, or corrected him in some manner with his firm opinions. It was always a good thing for Mikleo to hear.

 

_“I just…”_ Dezel grumbled. _“I-I’m just… Really…”_

There was a pause, something in Dezel’s tone told Mikleo he would never finish the sentence aloud.

 

“Lonely?” He said softly.

 

Mikleo knew Dezel opened his mouth to deny it, even without being able to see his face. So he stopped him. “There’s no way you’re not,” Mikleo huffed. “After all, you couldn’t make a friend if someone payed you.” The boy on the other end of the line growled, but Mikleo ignored it.

 

“You never told me… What happened with you and Rose?” Mikleo curled up under the covers, grabbing his earbuds and plugging them into his shiny iPhone, putting one in his ear, and beginning to listen.

 

The drone of rain finally came on the windows, pattering on the metallic roof gently. Mikleo lulled to sleep humming in acknowledgment to Dezel’s ranting, and listening to the raindrops.

 

~

 

Mikleo awoke the next morning to a heavy weight being thrown on top of him. He yelped, jerking under whatever was pinning him down and flailing, before finally fully regaining consciousness and looking at the thing.

 

“School’s canceled~” Zaveid sang. “Roads are too icy. Rained last night.” Mikleo was on his side, and his thin shoulder was digging into Zaveid’s chest, and his hip into his stomach.  He glared at Zaveid, the two deep colors reflecting eachother.

 

“Fantastic. So why am I awake?”

 

“Because,” Zaveid yawned. “Edna said if I let you sleep in you would panic when you woke up thinking you were late.” Mikleo opened his mouth to protest, but then shut it, because Zaveid was speaking the truth. Zaveid’s expression changed, brows furrowing. “Did you sleep at all last night kiddo?”

 

Mikleo’s eye twitched, hating the use of one of the millions of nicknames Zaveid and Edna seemed to have given him. He sighed. “No.” He deadpanned. “But!” He interfered before Zaveid could nag him, “It was worth it. Guess who called me?”

 

“Who?” Zaveid said, sliding off of Mikleo and crawling under the covers, even as Mikleo kicked him in an attempt to get him out.

 

Mikleo sighed, finally giving up and instead rolling over to look at Zaveid. “Dezel.” Zaveid’s eyes widened, and a low whistle sung through his teeth.

 

“Well I’ll be damned. I’ve been trying to get in contact with that kid ever since he broke off.” Mikleo nodded.

 

“Me too, but he called me last night of his own accord,” Mikleo turned over on his back. “Even that stupid antisocial stoic is human,” Mikleo sighed. “I think he just finally caved.”

 

Zaveid began making himself comfy, or so it seemed. Putting his arms in-between his head and pillow, and relaxing into the soft mattress. “Well, I guess that makes sense. You’re right, that kid is human too after all.” Zaveid sighed, and then looked to Mikleo, who was now sitting up crossed legged, the covers still over his lap. “What happened, anyway?”

 

“Apparently,” Mikleo said. “Rose just got tired of him being a control freak. They had a fight, and Dezel, being Dezel, didn’t know how to handle it. And therefor, didn’t handle it well.” Mikleo sighed, putting his head in his hands and resting his elbows into his thighs. “So Rose finally broke, screamed at him that they were breaking up and stomped out. And Dezel yelled after her that he never cared anyway.”

 

“And then didn’t have the guts to confront her again and fix things.” “Exactly.”

 

Zaveid sighed, “Poor kid. But I do have to say, it was a good lesson for him.” Mikleo lifted his head out of his hands, nodding slowly.

 

“Rose looks happier with Lailah, anyway.”

 

Zaveid gave him a blank look. “Eh?”

 

“Please,” Mikleo groaned, flopping his head dramatically before eyeing Zaveid out of the corner of his eye. “Don’t tell me you’re that dense.”

 

“Well it took me a few months to figure out you and Sorey, so yes, I am that dense.” Zaveid beamed. Mikleo almost smacked him.

 

Mikleo sighed, “Well, I guess they’re not as obvious.” He hummed. “Especially since their relationship isn’t romantic.”

 

“Then… What is it?” Zaveid asked, Mikleo opened his mouth in an attempt to explain, but Zaveid changed his mind, waving his hand at the albino. “Never mind, never mind, I don’t care about the specifics. They are whatever they are.” Mikleo blinked at him, a smile attempting to quirk on his lips. “They’re more than friends though, right?”

 

“Sure looks like it to me.”

 

“Noted.”

 

Peaceful silence sat for a couple more moments. Mikleo looked to the windows, wishing that it wasn’t such a gloomy day and he could open them.

 

“C’mere.”

 

Out of nowhere, Zaveid pulled Mikleo down, probably too hard, even on the soft mattress, and dragged him toward him.

 

“Oi what are you-“ Mikleo cried, as Zaveid wrapped his arms around Mikleo, nuzzling his nose into the boy’s little shoulder.

 

“I’m cold.” He said simply.

 

“T-Then put a shirt on!” Mikleo spluttered. But Zaveid just held him tighter, not even effected by Mikleo’s desperate attempts to get him off.

 

“Stop struggling and accept your fate,” Zaveid said, a devilish grin spreading across his face. He attacked Mikleo’s sides, making the smaller boy scream and squeal and thrash, and let cute soft giggles burble out of his mouth. “Awe now I know why your boyfriend thinks you’re so cute- OWE OW OWE!” Zaveid yelped as Mikleo kicked him repeatedly in the shin. “Okay, okay not so cute.” Zaveid said, finally stopping the tickle war and instead just pinning Mikleo down with his arm. Mikleo sighed, exhausted, and relaxed into his bed accepting his fate of Zaveid cuddling with him because he was too lazy to go get a shirt.

 

And, Mikleo knew, he was probably lonely.

 

The door to Mikleo’s room burst open, and in came Edna. “What the fuck is going on here? I swear to go-“ she cut herself off. Eyes flickering between Mikleo’s pleading face and Zaveid’s body, who had now pulled Mikleo so they were facing each other in front, causing Mikleo to tilt his head at a strange angle to look at his sister.

 

“Oh Meebo,” Edna deadpanned, dropping her umbrella and waltzing over to the bed. “Don’t look at me like I’m going to save you.”

 

She stood up on the bed, padding across it until she reached Mikleo, and then plopped on top of him, making him groan. She adjusted her position so Mikleo’s hip and shoulder weren’t digging into her torso. She didn’t dare get under the covers, not wanting Zaveid germs, but also seeing this as a very good opportunity to torture her victim.

 

Mikleo just sighed, not wanting bruises all over him for the next week if he dared tried to shove Edna off, and knowing Zaveid easily overpowered him.

 

Eventually all three of them lulled into sleep. Tired from stress and secretly content with having a warm human being with them, sick of being so alone.

 

~

 

**The Group Chat ™**

Yo Sorey

_Delivered_

_Sheps_

Yes, Zaveid?

 

Your boyfriend is a really good cuddler

I’m stealing him

_Delivered_

_Lailah_

Oh my!

 

_Rose_

What did u do?

 

_Sheps_

I swear to god Zaveid if you did something

 

JEEZ

WHY DOES EVERYONE ALWAYS SUSPECT ME OF

DOING SOMETHING?

_Delivered_

_Uptight New Dude_

Because you seem like the type to get into trouble.

 

OH MY GOD

EVEN SERGEI

U GUYS TAINTED HIM.

_Delivered_

_Rose_

No but really what’s going on.

 

Oh

Right

_ [Open Attachment] _

_Delivered_

_Lailah_

Oh my goodness!! !

That is

The CUTEST thing I’ve ever seen

 

_Rose_

…

How much did you pay them to do that with you?

 

I didn’t pay them anything!

Okay

So maybe I like, kind of forced Mikleo to

And Edna only got on top to annoy Mikleo

But still!!!

_Delivered_

_Lailah_

I don’t care about the circumstances it’s my

wallpaper now.

 

_Sheps_

asfjasdfjaslfjlasasdfaweeFSJDKFA!*@$&!&

 

_Uptight New Dude_

Sorey, are you alright? Did a cat walk across your phone?

 

_Rose_

I think you broke him

He died from the cuteness of his own lover.

 

_Rose_

P.S Edna’s going to be pissed you took that picture

when she wakes up.

 

~

 

Alisha scrolled through the group texts from earlier. There had been quite many, with the ice and everyone being stuck at home. She would be surprised if they could have school tomorrow, it was supposed to rain some more, snow, and then get deathly cold.

 

She finally reached the picture Zaveid had sent, and her eyes widened. Mikleo and Zaveid were under the covers, Mikleo’s hand curled into a loose fist and pressed against Zaveid’s chest, his head tucked and his hair sticking to his face. Edna was on top of him, still in her PJs and passed out, one hand loosely clutching his shirt. Zaveid was reaching up awkwardly in order to take the selfie, but he was laying on his side, shirtless, as he always was at any given opportunity, with his hair sprawled all across every inch of the pillow and even falling over the blankets.

 

How they even got into that position, she wondered. Alisha had never really cuddled with anyone, she used to sit in Maltran’s lap when she was little, she hugged Sorey a lot in Elysia, but she never ever crawled into bed and cuddled, lied down on the couch with someone, or nuzzled her face into someone’s shoulder. She wasn’t very sad about it, she wasn’t really a big cuddler anyway, but it made her wonder how people ended up in these kinds of situations.

 

She felt the weight on the couch shift beside her, and looked up. Despite the fact that Maltran was staying at home, she was still put together, her hair in that terribly loose braid that was also so perfect, and fell over her eye. She looked at Alisha, eyes a deep purple-red. She glanced down at Alisha’s phone. “What’s… That?”

 

“A-Ah!” Alisha stuttered, blushing. “This is Mikleo, this is Edna and this is Zaveid.” She pointed to each of them as she said their names.

 

“Do they live together?” Maltran asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. Alisha nodded vigorously.

 

“Yes!” She squeaked. Maltran gave her an odd look at her dying voice. Alisha cleared her throat. “Yes ma’am,” she said quietly. Maltran nodded, looking at them again.

 

“What’s their relationship?” She continued to interrogate, but finally leaning away from Alisha’s phone now.

 

“Mikleo is Edna’s adopted brother,” Alisha explained. “Zaveid is their friend, mine too, obviously. He had to leave his apartment, apparently.” She attempted to sugar coat. Maltran just gave her a look, and turned away, humming.

 

Her phone started ringing loudly. Alisha flinched, staring at it as it began to vibrate, along with the ringing, in her hand.

 

“Excuse me,” Alisha said politely, standing and beginning to walk out of the room. “Ah, Sergei…” She began. Maltran watched her from behind until she disappeared.

 

She stood, brushing off her clothes and making way for her room. “It’s like we grow further apart every minute,” she said softly.

 

~

 

_"I know this is probably a lot to ask but…”_ Sergei’s voice came surprisingly quietly through the phone. _“Perhaps, you could come over?”_

 

Alisha paused, seeming to register the words. And then gasped, “L-Like over to your house?” She stuttered.

 

_“Yes.”_ He deadpanned. Alisha gawked at the wall. _“I-I mean!”_ He squeaked. _“I know its cold, and the walk to my house would be icy… I could come over to your place instead.”_ Sergei cleared his throat, _“Quite honestly I’m rather bored, and a bit lonely. No one’s home.”_

 

“Um, okay!” Alisha said. “My house might be better, I’m not sure Maltran would want me walking in the snow and ice. I’ll go ask her and make sure it’s okay for you to come over.”

 

Sergei made a noise of approval, and Alisha hung up, staring at her phone before thundering up the stairs, “Miss Maltran!”

~

Lailah loved snow days.

 

She loved them because it meant that she had her parents to herself, all day long. Lailah loved her parents, but they were always working late at their bakery, she spent so much less time around them than she would like. Rose always came to visit her, and her parents always spoiled her half to death when they were home, so she wasn’t particularly lonely. But she still loved a day full of sitting in-between her mom and dad, watching the fire burn and vaguely listening to the droning TV.

 

Her phone began to ring from somewhere under her leg. She flinched ever so slightly, having forgotten that her phone even existed.

 

She answered it without looking at the contact.

 

“Hello?” She said politely. She was expecting Rose’s booming voice from the other end of the line, but that’s not what came.

 

“ _U-Um, Lailah…”_ Came Alisha’s soft, nervous voice. Lailah blinked.

 

“Yes, sweetheart?” She said in her gentle, motherly tone.

_“I think I have a crush on Serge-“_

 

A loud squeal vibrated throughout the house. Her mom jumped from beside her, taking her head off of her daughters shoulder and staring at her. Lailah patted her mother’s head gently, trotting out of the room. “Tell me _everything.”_

 

There was a cough on the other end of the line, _“W-Well,”_ Alisha began. _“He came over to my house today, because apparently he was lonely and bored. And he was so…”_

Alisha began to ramble. Lailah made her way to her room, sitting down with beautifully controlled movements onto her bed, tucking her skirt underneath of her and looking around her room.

 

There were overwhelming amounts of red. Three of the walls were a bright, bright red, and one was a deep magenta. Her sheets and covers were white and black, and there was a fluffy red blanket folded at the end of it, for the coldest winter nights. He decorative pillows were intricate lace, two white ones and a washed out red one in the middle. The effect almost made it look like blood, Lailah had always thought. Blood on white clothing that had been in the rain. It somewhat perturbed Lailah, but yet she still liked the pillow.

 

_"He... Lailah..."_ Alisha said softly. _“He’s so honest, and loyal, and he seems so brave…”_ Her voice was a bit dreamy, and she seemed to catch herself. _“O-Of course I will not let this get in the way of my studies! School is far more important than boys.”_

Lailah giggled. “Well, why don’t you ask him on a casual date?” There was some awkward spluttering noises from the other end of the line. Lailah decided to take it as her cue to continue. “That’s what dates are for, aren’t they? Get to know each other, figure out if there’s a chance it will work.” She said encouragingly, “Plus!” She giggled, “I’m pretty sure he likes you too.”

 

There was some hesitation, and the phone became muffled and static with what Lailah assumed to be a deep breath. “ _Alright.”_ Alisha said strongly.

 

“Good!” Lailah replied cheerfully. “Oh, and Alisha sweetheart?” Alisha made a noise of question.

 

“Never date someone because they remind you of someone else.”

 

She hung up.

 

~

 

Sorey prayed to god that he would pick up. He was restless today, and annoyed that he was stuck alone in his house. He usually didn’t mind being alone, even though he loved people. It meant he got to read books on books on books, but today he couldn’t sit still long enough to read a page.

 

_“Sorey?”_

“Gramps!” Sorey called in return, letting out a relieved sigh. He heard the fond chuckle from the other end of the line. He moved from his anxious standing position, sitting down on the couch and instead just tapping his foot on the floor as his source of entertainment.

 

_“Shouldn’t you be in school, boy?”_

“N-No!” Sorey stuttered, not wanting to get in trouble. “School was canceled today, tons of ice and there’s going to be more.”

 

_“I see,”_ Zenerus replied. Sorey could hear tapping. _“It’s beautiful here in Elysia. As always.”_

“Yeah,” Sorey sighed fondly, and then furrowed his brows. “This summer…” Sorey said quietly. “Can I come home?”

 

Zenerus chuckled fondly. _“Of course.”_ And there was a lapse of silence. It was unusually awkward, something that wasn’t normal between he and Zenerus. _“You can come home if it ever gets too much, you know. I just wanted to send you there for a bit for the experience-“_

“No!” Sorey yelled, and then clamped his hand over his mouth. “I-I’m sorry sir. It’s just… I do miss Elysia, of course. But I have so many friends here, Gramps. There’s no one at home my age. And Mikleo… He’s so…”

 

_“He’s that important to you, hm?”_

 

“Yes.” Sorey said firmly.

 

Silence lapsed again. But it was comfortable now. Sorey leaned back on the soft couch, letting his eyes flutter closed.

 

_“I’ll come visit soon, and this time I’ll stay for a long while.”_ There was a huff of breath on the other side, Sorey knew he was smoking. He beamed anyway, eyes sparkling. _“Natalie wanted to come see you too, I think. And Mason, perhaps they could come for a bit.”_

“That would be great!” Sorey yelled in delight.

 

_“Now,”_ Zenerus said. _“Talk to me. How’s school? Your friends? Mikleo?”_

Sorey began to talk. “School is great!” He said. “My classes aren’t as hard as I was afraid of, I even somehow managed to pass math…” He grumbled. “Mikleo and Alisha helped!”

 

_“I see.”_ Zenerus said thoughtfully. _“And how’s Alisha?”_

“Good, everything’s back to normal,” Sorey released a breath, then pinching the bridge of his nose. “Really Gramps, I never knew this stuff was so hard…” He pouted.

 

_“Well, Mikleo seemed to put up with you, somehow, so you must be doing something right.”_

“G-Gramps!” Sorey yelled. Zenerus chuckled, and another puff came through the phone. Sorey frowned.

 

_“You two have been going to eachother’s houses a lot as of late, haven’t you?”_ Zenerus mused, his old frail voice shaking.

 

“Mm,” Sorey hummed, and then shrugged. “I guess.”

 

_“Is that really appropriate for two boys your age?”_ Zenerus asked. Sorey blushed, pulling his knees to his chest and burying his face in them.

 

“N-No!” He stuttered, his voice even more muffled by his pants. “All we do is sleep!” Zenerus chuckled, only causing Sorey’s blush to deepen. “Plus!” He yelled, taking his head out of his legs and adjusting himself so that he was cross legged, one hand pressed on his thigh. “He… Doesn’t sleep very well,” Sorey’s voice softened, fist clutching his loose pants. “It’s bad for his health, he sleeps better when other people are there.” Sorey continued to explain. “Did I ever tell you he passed out at school?”

 

There was a pause, _“No.”_  Zenerus said, sounding genuinely surprised.

 

“Well he did!” Sorey suddenly yelled. “The other week. He walked out during the middle of history class, I was lucky enough to guess something was wrong and follow him, and he collapsed!” Sorey’s jaw began to throb from clenching it, he ignored it. “It was scary,” Sorey’s voice shook. “He had a fever and the nurse at school told me that if his condition got worse to take him to the hospital and he was out on and off and on the whole way home and then when he finally fell asleep in his bed he had a nightmare,” Sorey rambled, only pausing for a deep breath. “And when he was trying to take a bath he almost fell down, and his steps were so uneven and he could barely walk.” Sorey choked. “It was really scary and I didn’t know what to do.” He finished, taking a deep breath. “I… Really don’t want that to happen again.”

 

_“Did something emotionally stressful take place before this happened?”_  Zenerus said carefully.

 

Sorey nodded, and then realized Zenerus couldn’t see him. “…Yes…” he said slowly.

 

_“I was wondering.”_  Zenerus asked. _“He seemed like the type of kid to know his limits, unlike you, even if he probably pushes them sometimes.”_

“H-Hey!”

 

_“He probably wouldn’t have passed out under normal circumstances.”_ Zenerus tried to explain. _“His brain probably just couldn’t handle whatever emotional stress he was going through, and then you add the fatigue in his body and he just shuts down.”_

“But _still.”_ Sorey replied. “That still means he wasn’t taking proper care of himself emotionally or physically.”

 

_“That is correct.”_

Sorey grumbled under his breath.

 

_“Did you tell him it worried you?”_ Zenerus said gently.

 

“Well… He figured it out.” Sorey sighed.

 

_“That sounds about right.”_ Another puff. Sorey scoffed.

“I just…” Sorey gritted his teeth again. _“Why can’t he worry about himself more?_ He’s always nagging me to do things and take care of myself, but he’s a hypocrite.” Sorey began rubbing his hand anxiously up and down his thigh. “He tells me to sleep when he’s up himself, he tells me to eat a more balanced diet and then forgets to eat a meal. He tells me to tell him when somethings wrong, but doesn’t tell me when somethings wrong.”

 

_“That’s the way he is.”_ Zenerus said wisely. _“Also, I think unlike you Mikleo’s a bit more aware of his problems.”_ Sorey choked. _“And I could easily see you passing out in the school hallway yourself.”_ Sorey pasued. _“I don’t think Mikleo forgets about his problems, or ignores them. He may attempt to hide what’s wrong from you, but that’s his way of coping. He needs to deal with problems himself before he can talk to anyone else. If he ever really needed help, he would trust you. Learn patience, Sorey.”_

Sorey crinkled his nose, but his stubborn wall of denial was slowly being pulled down. “How do you know this? You’ve only met him like, two or three times.”

 

_“Sorey, my boy, that poor thing is all you talk about over the phone.”_ Sorey squeaked. _“Plus, sometimes two or three meetings is enough. Especially if I already have a grasp on who they are and know what to look for.”_

Sorey hummed. “Gramps, are you busy?”

 

_“No.”_

The boy beamed, “Talk to me about how things are in Elysia?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Glaring at line of dominos intensely, surrounded by previously sacrificed dominos from the first half of this fic*
> 
> "Wait for itttt..."


	22. The Beginning of the End

For once when Mikleo awoke the world was not spinning, his head was not pounding, his heart was not palpitating and his limbs didn’t feel like they were going to fall off.

 

He also wasn’t cold.

 

Mikleo allowed his eyes to flutter open. They were met with white, the pure pearly white of his obsessively clean sheets. His chest was warm, and his arms were wrapped around a body. He looked down, attempting to scoot back only to find himself pressing harder into someone else from behind. He caught the head full of dirty blonde, anyway.

 

The form behind him shifted, and a heavy arm was thrown over his waist. He glanced at the tan skin out of the corner of his eye, hot breaths breathing on his nape.

 

He almost felt bad enough to let Zaveid stay there. Almost, but his pride was more important.

 

He retracted his leg forward, and then released it, jamming it into Zaveid’s shin successfully. There was a loud yelp, and flailing. Mikleo got hit in the face, but he decided that just made it even.

 

“Good morning.” Mikleo deadpanned.

 

He felt the bed shift underneath of him, listening as Zaveid sat up. “Jeez,” Zaveid whined. “Let a man sleep.”

 

“No you literally did nothing but sleep yesterday.”

 

“So did you!”

 

Point taken.

 

Mikleo released Edna gently, careful not to wake her unlike Zaveid. This earned him a jealous glare, but he ignored it, standing up on top of the bed and tip toeing around her to get down.

 

Only for it to be ruined. “Hey, little lady!” Zaveid shouted, jostling Edna. She shifted in the bed, and Mikleo immediately exited the room, making a break for it downstairs.

 

Zaveid was not going to die a painless death.

 

As he snuck down the stairs he heard high pitched screaming (he was going to blackmail Zaveid for that girly scream later) confirming his thoughts.

 

For once he decided he was going to make himself breakfast, having not eaten all day yesterday. He meandered into the kitchen, grabbing toast, not really in the mood for cooking anything and going by the fact that it was 6:00 AM he thought he just might make himself sick eating something so early, when he usually didn’t eat anything until at least twelve.

 

He didn’t bother making anything for the others as he grabbed cream cheese out of the fridge. Edna had survived on her own before and Zaveid was seventeen, turning eighteen in the summer, they could make their own food. Mikleo paused, staring blankly at the toaster oven and wondering what Zaveid’s life had been like to have to miss two whole years of school.

 

Probably hell.

 

His phone started buzzing and he flailed, startling him from its spot underneath his palm as he had had his hands pressed down on the counter. He recovered it from its scary placement on the edge of the counter thanks to his spasm, looking at the contact.

 

_Alisha Diphda_

Of course, after all she was the only one who would ever wake up this early.

 

“Alisha, do you need something?”

 

 _“Oh, you’re awake!”_ Alisha chirped. Her voice was excited, but also a bit shaky. Mikleo decided she was nervous, and grabbed the toast, placing it on the little plate with his free hand and getting a knife.

 

“Of course.” He deadpanned. Talentedly opening the tub of cream cheese with one hand and then pondering how to get it out with the knife, finally deciding to just set the phone on speaker as Edna and Zaveid still seemed to be preoccupied upstairs.

 

Alisha giggled _, “Right you don’t sleep much…”_ She hummed, then she laughed. _“Except yesterday, oh my god, that picture!”_

 

Mikleo blinked, furrowing his eyebrows as he began shutting the tub, rinsing off the knife in the sink before halfheartedly throwing it in the dishwasher. He took Alisha with him on his trip back to the fridge. “What picture?”

 

 _“Oh that’s right, you don’t look at the group chat…”_ she mulled. Mikleo was now slightly concerned. _“Look at the group chat attachments when we’re done talking, okay?”_

 

“…Okay…” He said suspiciously, sitting down on the couch. “Did you need something?”

 

Alisha suddenly spluttered, and then stuttered incoherent words. _“W-Well…”_

“Just spit it out.”

 

 _“I ask Sergei to go to lunch with me in town but I’m too scared to go alone and you’re good with this stuff right? Please go with me!”_ Alisha said quickly, her sentence ending in a squeak. Mikleo took a moment to swallow his food, processing the words.

 

“Oh.” Was all he said.

 

 _“Oh?!”_ Alisha asked. Mikleo suddenly shivered at the eerie silence of the house. Zaveid had stopped screaming, Mikleo presumed him dead. Hopefully Zaveid had not turned Edna into a snowball of rage, and he was not next.

 

Mikleo cleared his throat, doing away his thoughts. “I can’t drive to town, Alisha. There’s a ton of ice.” He paused, “I guess I could walk though… Since I didn’t do anything yesterday.”

 

The walk to town was about a 25-30 minute walk for Mikleo. Nice when it was warm, deathly when it was cold. But you make sacrifices for friends, especially one like Alisha, and Mikleo was happy at the thought of her moving on.

 

 _“Ah, of course.”_ She cleared her throat professionally. _“You do not have to-“_

“I’m coming.” He cut in. “What time, what place?” It should be warmer by the time he was going, anyway.

 

 _“U-Um, twelve, at_ _Cuatrind.”_

“See you,” Mikleo said curtly, wanting to hurry up and get off the phone. Mikleo hated talking on the phone with a passion. He hung up, accidently cutting off Alisha’s “goodbye!” and continuing to eat breakfast, hearing the footsteps of an angry Edna coming down the steps. He remembered what Alisha said, for once visiting the group message.

 

~

 

Sorey awoke at 11:34, nearly had a heart attack, and then remembered the condition of the roads yesterday and the promise that it would be worse. He took a deep breath, and then released it, his palpitating heart slowing.

 

His phone buzzed, and he grappled for it numbly, and turned his lamp on while he was at it. Light filled the room, the lazy winter sky certainly did not come as the best source of it. There were quite a few messages in the group chat, then again, everyone was probably locked up. He was mostly surprised that he was the last to wake out of everyone. Unlike Mikleo, he did have lazy days and liked to sleep, but he also had a lot of days where he woke up at 6:30 AM and couldn’t sit still, had to be productive and was an endless ball of energy.

 

He hummed, wondering if there was anyone who truly did not have lazy days. Mikleo probably would, if he could.

 

He scrolled through the group chat, snorting when he saw Zaveid screaming about how he was now covered in bruises and how Alisha was a traitor. Sorey didn’t even need to question why he was covered in bruises and how Alisha was a traitor, and it appeared no one else in the chat did either. Alisha did strongly insist that she was not a traitor, though.

 

The cold weather and stormy clouds didn’t exactly do wonders for making Sorey want to get out of bed, so he rolled over, groping for one of the books laying at the base of his bed. Books scattered around seemed to be the one mess Mikleo let go to some extent, until it got too bad, and then he told Sorey to clean them up himself. He knew Mikleo sometimes had books scattered across his own bed, though.

 

His hands touched soft leather and he yanked it up, staring at the precious book filled with colorful bookmarks and dog ears, looking like it was falling apart but also so utterly well cared for. It was Sorey’s limited leather edition of the Celestial Record, a book about the leftovers of ruins, legends, and fairytales.

 

He flipped over the cover. There was a messy signature inside, _“Michael Rulay.”_ Apparently Zenerus had known the author, and had gotten the signature behind Sorey’s back for Christmas.

 

Michael Rulay was a famous explorer, known throughout the entire word, but no one knew his face. Or so everyone said, since Zenerus seemed to.

 

He frowned, tracing a thumb along the signature. The inside of the book wasn’t as soft, and it tickled the pad of his finger until he came to the end. He remembered when he had tried to tell Mikleo about it. The firm _“don’t say that name”_ that had sent Sorey into shock. First of all, the fact that Mikleo knew what the man’s full name was going to be before he could finish it, second of all, the boiling, seething hatred in his words.

 

Mikleo didn’t seem like someone to hate somebody for no reason, Sorey pondered. Mikleo had always said he had never disliked the book, _“I used to read it, I don’t anymore”_ were the words he used. Sorey’s eyebrows furrowed. Now that he thought about it, Mikleo’s middle name was Rulay, wasn’t it? Did he know the author, did his mother know the author?

 

Sorey shook his head, he was over thinking this.

 

But the nagging feeling in his stomach wouldn’t go away.

 

His phone started ringing, and he jumped out of his trance, floundering through the covers trying to find it. It was like trying to find a toy in an endless ocean.

 

Finally he found it, mostly thanks to the ringing and buzzing giving him hot and cold hints, pulling it out from in-between two sheets (how did it even get there?) and accepting the call immediately.

 

 _“Hi.”_ Came Mikleo’s slightly annoyed voice.

 

“Hi!” Sorey giggled, happy to hear it. Then he paused, “What’s wrong?”

 

 _“What?”_ Mikleo said. _“Not allowed to call my boyfriend just to check in?”_

Sorey let out a nervous sound, scratching the back of his neck, “Well… You do hate talking on the phone.”

 

Mikleo grumbled, _“Basically Alisha asked Sergei to go to lunch with her in town, was too scared to go alone, and I’m currently walking through an icy hell trying to get there. It’s fucking cold, the things I do for my friends…”_

Sorey laughed, and he had the feeling that if they were talking in person Mikleo would’ve jabbed him in the ribs. Really hard.

 

 _“Oh, laugh at my pain why don’t you.”_ Mikleo quipped, letting out a sigh.

 

“No, no, I’m sorry.” Sorey said, choking on giggles. He thought a moment as silence lapsed. “So you’re going with them on a date? Won’t you just get in the way?”

 

 _“Well, the thing is Alisha didn’t really tell Sergei it was a date.”_ Mikleo said. _“And he’s too damn dense to figure it out. So basically I’m going to be there to make it less date like and not really do anything. Except maybe throw a thousand hints at Sergei.”_

Sorey was afraid he was going to make his lip _bleed_ he was biting it so hard to try and keep himself from laughing. It wasn’t _completely_ uncommon to hear Mikleo curse, but it also wasn’t exactly a common thing either, so it was kind of fun to hear. Even if it was fairly mild. “Alisha owes you one then.” Sorey decided to reply, Mikleo snorted on the other end of the line.

 

 _“Fuck yeah she does.”_ He grumbled, but there was a hint of fondness in his tone. Sorey’s lips quirked into a soft smile.

 

“Well,” Sorey said. “This is what you get for being the only one in the group who isn’t emotionally dense, and doesn’t get so overly excited when two of your friends like each other that you end up making it worse.”

 

_“I’ll take that as a compliment.”_

Sorey hummed. “I hope it goes well,” he said softly. Mikleo hummed in return.

 

_“If he hurts her he’s dead.”_

Sorey laughed, “You say that but I hurt her too.” He choked on his words a bit, he was sure Mikleo didn’t miss it.

 

 _“If you hurt her, then so did I.”_ Mikleo sighed, _“Also, Sorey you’re ridiculous for still even feeling slightly guilty about that.”_

Sorey chewed on his lip, letting out a sad laugh. “Sorry,” he choked. “Guess I’m hopeless.”

 

 _“Yeah, you are.”_ Mikleo said fondly. _“Idiot.”_

Silence lapsed for a couple moments. It wasn’t exactly uncomfortable, but Sorey could still feel that there was something that needed to be said.

 

Finally Mikleo took a deep breath. _“Sorey,”_ he said firmly. _“There’s a chance this could all go south.”_

 

Sorey quirked and eyebrow, startled. He opened his mouth to ask _how-_

_“It’s just a suspicion. But there is a chance. There’s also a chance that you’ll get wrapped up in it, especially with you being you.”_

Sorey’s eyes widened, his face paled, “Wha-“ he choked.

 

_“Blame yourself for it and I’ll never forgive you.”_

Silence settled, everything seemed to freeze. Sorey let Mikleo’s blunt words settled onto his ears, making his heart ache both in hurt and concern, and yet utter love for the boy who went to the greatest heights just to make sure he was happy and safe.

 

“Got it,” Sorey finally said, smiling a big, real smile even though Mikleo couldn’t see it.

 

Silence lapsed for a few more moments. _“I’m almost there,”_ Mikleo said gently. _“So I’m going to hang up.”_

“Alright!” Sorey said cheerily. “I love you,” he said, his voice immediately dropping into a soft, fond tone, full of love.

 

 _“I love you too,”_ Mikleo replied, his voice also soft and almost shaking. Sorey smiled as the beeps signaled the end of the call.

 

He had a feeling that even a long, long ways in the future their I Love You’s would never be empty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully there aren't any typos in this *rolls of cliff*
> 
> Enjoy! The pace should be picking up again soon. So *shoves fluff down your throat* take it while you can


	23. Our Pain is Equal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So apparently I update about every two days  
> I stg I don't even have a schedule this is such a mess wow

Mikleo was about to throw up.

 

Sergei was turning out to be a _ginormous_ romantic sap. Like marshmallows covered in molasses. Mikleo’s teeth were going to rot just sitting there.

 

But he was glad he came and third-wheeled anyway, because every once in a while Alisha would get nervous, or send him frightened glances, and he could help. They were cute together, definitely cute together, but Mikleo had this dreadful feeling that they were going to have to fight tooth and nail before they could settle their differences.

 

Which wasn’t a bad thing, as long as they could stay together through it.

 

Plus, the café was his favorite. Old and wooden, beautiful ancient tapestries hung on the walls and small little windows all over every space they weren’t covering. It was always bright in here, and yet cool and homey. The soft carpet buried against your toes if you slipped your shoes off and the gentle scent of jasmine hung in the air.

 

It reminded him of Sorey.

 

Mikleo’s phone began ringing and he flinched, fishing around in his pocket as both Alisha and Sergei stared at him. He looked at the contact a moment, and a haughty smile quirked on his lips.

 

“Give me a second,” he mumbled, standing up out of his chair, sending them a halfhearted wave. “You lovebirds don’t do anything exciting while I’m gone.”

 

He swore he heard Sergei choke on his sandwich.

“Wow, so you’re actually calling me again?” He said once he made it outside, the cold air biting his face and stinging his cheeks. His voice was a bit proud, but he deserved it. Because how long had he been trying to get this stubborn man to just _call him back?_

_“Haha, don’t get your hopes up.”_ Dezel deadpanned. Mikleo’s lips turned into a frown.

 

“What did you need?”

 

_“All I did last time we called was rant,”_ said the grumpy man. _“I wanted you to talk to me a bit about everyone.”_ His voice was choked and stiff, as if someone was forcing him to say the words with a gun at his temple. It wouldn’t be something that surprised Mikleo, in fact, that he would say something like that on his own would be far more disturbing.

 

_“Not that I care, or anything. I just owe you.”_

Oh, that’s better.

 

Mikleo giggled softly anyway, knowing that Dezel did indeed care. “Oh… So where should I start… Oh, Sorey!”

 

_“That kid from Elysia Alisha wouldn’t stop talking about?”_

“Guess who he hooked up with?”

 

_“Alisha.”_

“Nope.”

 

Dezel thought a moment, shocked, and then growled.

 

_“…Rose.”_

“Nope.”

 

Now Dezel actually stopped to think, not one to just blurt out answers at random, he sighed, sucked in a breath. _“You.”_

Mikleo smirked, even though Dezel couldn’t see it. _“Bingo.”_

Dezel sighed, _“And how did this happen?”_

Mikleo continued, politely telling Dezel everything that had happened in his absence. Surprisingly, when he got to Lailah and Rose, Dezel only sighed sadly, and said something along the lines of “It’s for the best.”

 

_“And what are you doing right now? It’s snowing here, is it in Ladylake?”_  
  


“It’s not snowing right now, but it was last night and there’s ice and snow everywhere.” Mikleo sighed. “I’m actually currently third wheeling with Alisha and Sergei, so your call saved me. Thank you, it was getting disgusting.”

 

_“Now you know what Edna thinks of you and Sorey.”_ Mikleo could _hear_ the smirk on the other end of the line, and his face blushed furiously.

 

“S-Shut up! We’re not that bad!”

 

_“I’m sure.”_ Dezel deadpanned, Mikleo scoffed. _“Well, I’ll let you get back to third wheeling. We’ve been talking for over a half an hour, they probably think you’re dead.”_

“Oh, wow.” Mikleo said softly, as he put his phone down to look at the time. A smile twitched on his lips that he had managed Dezel to stay on the call for so long, even if he was the one doing all the talking.

 

_“Bye.”_ Dezel said.

 

“Bye,” Mikleo replied. And the call ended, he wandered back into the little café.

 

When he caught sight of Sergei and Alisha again, Sergei was blushing _furiously._ It was impressive how well you could see it, even though he wasn’t all that pale and Mikleo was pretty far away from him. Alisha was giggling prettily, and Mikleo stalled, having enough sense not to interrupt this.

 

Alisha caught sight of him though, and waved him over. He rolled his eyes, sitting back down. “Sergei, that’s the deepest blush I’ve ever seen.” Sergei’s blush only deepened, which actually concerned Mikleo a bit. How much more blood could rush to Sergei’s cheeks before it was a medical problem? Even Alisha had a blush sprinkled across her cheeks now.

 

“What were you doing?” Alisha asked, tucking a loose strand from her ponytail behind her ear.

 

“Talking to Dezel,” Mikleo deadpanned, looking at the cold tea on the table disappointedly. He picked it up anyway, just to hold it, his hands brushing the lacy fabric overtop of the table. It was soft, it reminded him of Lailah’s room.

 

Alisha gaped at him. “No way.”

 

“Yes way,” Mikleo said, now thoroughly annoyed that he couldn’t take a sip of the tea, and instead resorting to rubbing his thumb over the cup’s cool surface, enjoying the smooth texture worn overtime with tiny unnoticeable bumps and cracks. It was one of the few cafés left that didn’t give you paper cups, and instead just trusted you to give them back. “He called me the other day as well.”

 

Alisha continued to gape, _“Why?”_

Mikleo just gave her a blank look. “We were friends, you know.” He said softly, Alisha blinked at this. “I liked him. He just got lonely and called me, that’s all.”

 

“Who’s… This Dezel?” Sergei said hesitantly.

 

“Rose’s ex-boyfriend…” Alisha replied, pursing her lips to think.

 

Sergei bit his lip, “Is he-“

 

“He’s awful with people, bad at talking, stubborn, pessimistic, grumpy and rude.” Mikleo said helpfully, Alisha gave him a look, amazed.

 

“Mikleo! That’s-!”

 

“He’s also a good listener, quiet, realistic, sweet and entertaining.” Mikleo finished. “To me, at least.”

 

“…I see.” Sergei said. Mikleo rolled his eyes.

 

“I’m going to leave you two lovebirds alone.” Mikleo deadpanned, beginning to collect himself. Alisha spluttered and Sergei blushed, Mikleo ignored Alisha’s protests and begs, walking over to the cup’s rightful place. It made a soft _clank_ as he set it on top of the tower of others, leftover tea sloshing.

 

He left without saying another word. Alisha watched as he went through the old, traditional log door, white hair disappearing from the little circular window in it soon after. She looked to Sergei to say something, and then her phone buzzed.

 

_Mikleo 1:05 PM_

_This isn’t going to be easy for you two. It’s not going to be a fairytale, you have many differences. You’re both hard workers, work through it, it’ll be worth it. I promise._

She had to stop her heart from dropping. If only she had done that with Sorey…

 

~

 

Mikleo arrived home, freezing and his boots wet and cold. There was a fire going on the right side of the room, in the little hearth Mikleo had forgotten existed. The smell of wood burning, the strong scent of charcoal and the warmth covering your skin. It felt so good, to most people.

 

It just made Mikleo shake.

 

He kicked his boots off and pulled off his slightly damp socks, shoving them inside the boots and lining them up by the door neatly. He began to pull his layers off his top until he was wearing nothing but a lightweight shirt and one of Sorey’s sweatshirts, floating into the living room that didn’t have a clear separation from the entrance.

 

He waltzed around the couch, surprised to see Zaveid laying on it. The man shifted to look at Mikleo, his amber eyes, which when you first met him seemed harsh, were soft like liquid lava mixed with burning yellow fire, turning a welcoming melty brown around the edges of his iris.

 

He was curled up in a soft white blanket, looking sleepy despite the fact he had lied around all day yesterday. Mikleo flopped down in the chair, far away from the fireplace.

 

To him the smell of wood burning was the smell of the world burning down, the fire gently licking at the stone walls around it was it trying to eat everything alive, the soft warmth made his skin melt and the gentle roaring were the screams in his head that always ended.

 

He moved a cool hand to his shoulder, sighing with relief as his school skin touched the scorching hot scar, proving that his skin was not melting, that the skin was still harder and leathery, bumpy and soft like it could tear apart at any moment.

 

“Does your shoulder hurt?”

 

Mikleo didn’t look at Zaveid, instead his eyes fell unfocused on a place above the hearth. “Not exactly,” he said, his voice thick with meaning and his smile sad.

 

He only heard Zaveid shift, curling back into himself, not needing answers, but always there if he got them.

 

~

 

Sorey drummed his fingers on his thigh lightly, listening to his grandfather’s droning voice. He had already called Rose, Lailah and of course Mikleo, utterly bored out of his mind.

 

_“We’ll come visit you when the snow melts and the torrential rain stops.”_ Zenerus said softly. Sorey blinked, confused.

 

“Gramps,” he said slowly, knowing that even though his grandfather was brilliant, his older mind sometimes failed him. “There hasn’t been any rain, and there’s none on the forecast.”

 

_“Oh, Sorey.”_ Zenerus said softly, pityingly. _“It will rain. It will start as a sprinkle and then it will pour.”_

Sorey was shocked into silence, and a strange feeling creeped up his spine.

 

_“Good luck, my boy.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *hits domino*  
> *dominos slowly begin falling everywhere*  
> Oh whoops my finger slipped sorry guys lol


	24. The Distant Rumble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *presses red button*  
> let the games begin

Mikleo looked out the window, the rain trickling down the pane, creating trails of unsalted tears that pooled at the bottom before completely falling into the snow. It was only drizzling, just barely warm enough for it not to turn into freezing rain or snow. It was supposed to be almost 45 later that week, which was slightly concerning, considering there were currently several feet of snow outside. Maybe global warming really would kill them all.

 

He couldn’t sleep. He would’ve very much liked to blame sleeping all day yesterday (or, considering the time the day before yesterday), but in reality he had this odd unsettled feeling in his stomach. Mikleo wasn’t one for gut feelings or instinct, he preferred to think. But he did know when something was out of place, something in the air was making all of his nerves thrum and the once peaceful rain seem daunting, and ominous.

 

He unlocked his window and threw it open, leaning out of it and letting the tiny droplets cascade down his face and melt into his hair. He could already see the bedhead when he looked in the mirror tomorrow morning. But he didn’t care, the rain already attempting to pull his tiny curls into wet ringlets.

 

Mikleo jumped as his bedside table began vibrating aggressively. He growled, shutting his windows and latching the lock, shaking his head and sending tiny drops cascading all over his bed. He crawled across it, dramatically laying down on his stomach and reaching for his phone, apparently too tired to move any further.

 

For once he answered without looking at the contact.

 

_“Mikleo?”_

Sorey’s voice was a bit panicked. Mikleo sat up immediately, reacting to his lover’s tone. “What’s wrong?”

 

Sorey let out a nervous laugh, and then let out a relieved sigh. Mikleo let his muscles relax, his shoulders dropping and he buried a fist in the middle of his crossed legs. _“Nothing, nothing.”_ Sorey said softly, Mikleo waited for further explanation.

 

 _“It’s just…”_ Sorey began again. _“I had this really bad feeling. And then I had the sudden urge to call you and make sure you’re okay. I don’t know why, it hasn’t gone away since I talked to gramps earlier…”_

Mikleo chewed on his lip, becoming aware of the settling pit of dread in his stomach once again. He was careful to leave the feeling out of his tone. “Well, I’m fine.”

 

 _“I-I…”_ Sorey stuttered. _“Is there any possible way I could come over?”_

“Absolutely not!” Mikleo said with motherly horror.

 

_“W-Wha?! But why-“_

“Sorey it is icy and snowy and rainy and cold and dark. There is no way I’m letting you try and come over here while it’s like that.” Mikleo scolded firmly, even though something in his brain, something in his chest and his stomach that seemed to shoot through his nerves all the way down to his fingertips and toes, was screaming at him for him to _let Sorey come._

But that was stupid, because if he came he would fall down and hit himself, or get hypothermia.

 

 _“Mikleo,_ please,” Sorey whimpered, his voice was _desperate._ It made Mikleo do a double take, but he furrowed his eyebrows and took a deep breath.

 

“No.”

 

Silence lapsed. Mikleo felt a bit bad, but it was for Sorey’s own good. _“Then…”_ Sorey finally spoke. _“Text me in the morning. Please.”_

Mikleo scoffed, “I don’t know why you’re so paranoid about this.” Mikleo heard Sorey begin to raise his voice, and immediately intervened. “But, yes.”

 

Sorey released a shuddering breath of relief. Mikleo flinched, wishing he could see Sorey’s face. He seemed actually concerned, and incredibly on edge. “Is anything else actually wrong?” _You’re scaring me._

_“No… Well…”_ A big gulp. _“I’ve had this bad feeling ever since Gramps called earlier.”_

“Did he say something?”

 

_“No- Well… Yes?”_

Mikleo cocked an eyebrow as a natural reaction, even if no one was here to see it.

 

Sorey sighed, _“Gramps said something weird. It wasn’t bad it just… It felt real, and scary and I don’t know why.”_

Mikleo tapped his fingers on the mattress gently. “What was it?” He said softly. Almost a bit scared to hear it himself.

 _“He was talking about when he would come for a visit, and then he said he would come when the snow in rain let up.”_ Mikleo glanced out the window. _“I told him that there was no rain, and there wasn’t any rain on the forecast. He said…”_

Sorey gulped.

 

_“”It will rain. It will start as a sprinkle and then it will pour.’”_

Mikleo watched as the tears continued to fall down the window. The trails were bigger now that more of the light rain had sprinkled on them, globing together and leaving some streaks behind as they fell. _“When it rains, it pours.”_

 

Mikleo could practically see Sorey’s blink and blank look.

 

He grunted. “It’s a proverb. A well-used and trite one at that. You haven’t heard of it?”

 

_“Mikleo, I am a bumpkin who has lived in the depths of the mountains my entire life.”_

Mikleo giggled softly, clutching his sheets. “First of all I’ve never actually heard someone call themselves a _‘bumpkin’_. Secondly, you are a very well read bumpkin who is obsessed with books. I would think you would at least _recognize it.”_

He heard a muffled sound from the other end of the line and assumed Sorey had shaken his head, having forgotten that they were indeed, on the phone. “You’re hopeless,” Mikleo sighed.

 

_“…Okay, but why would gramps…”_

“Sorey,” Mikleo said, the single word dripping with venomous sarcasm. “He’s obviously a mighty being from many Eras ago and can see the future.”

 

Sorey sighed, _“Mikleo,”_ he whined. _“You are_ not _helping.”_

“Go to bed Sorey. And yes, I will text you.” Mikleo sighed, happy at least the air was a bit more lighthearted now.

 

 _“You better.”_ Sorey grumbled.

 

A pause.

 _“I love you.”_ He said it like it was something important, something that obviously needed to be said or everything would fall apart. Not exactly urgent, not entirely desperate, maybe somewhere between the two. But there are some emotions that all the vocabulary in the world cannot describe.

 

Mikleo’s smile softened into something fond and sickly sweet, his eyes turning into a soft calm and his posture unconsciously relaxing. “I know.”

 

And the phone beeped three times.

 

Mikleo flopped back down on the bed, cradling his phone to his chest and staring at the farthest wall with unfocused eyes.

 

The phone buzzed against his skin and he jumped, nearly throwing the poor thing. He grumbled at the lit up screen, far too bright in the dark room. “I swear to god Sorey-“

 

He blinked.

 

It was an unknown number.

 

But the number didn’t need a contact name, because he had already accidently memorized the digits. Oh how he wished he hadn’t, but it was ingrained in his brain just like his mistakes were burned into his skin.

_‘I’m in Ladylake for business. I’m coming for a visit.’_

~

Alisha stared at her glowing phone.

 

She wasn’t a night owl, she was a morning person. So it was odd for her to be up so late. But yet she couldn’t stop staring at the message Mikleo had sent earlier that day, even as her eyes burned from the stark contrast to the dark room.

 

Would it really be worth it if she had to fight for it?

 

She wrinkled her brows, frowning. Alisha had no problem fighting for things, she was very stubborn and never one to give up. But she liked to fight for the things she knew was right, and she was questioning if she was making the correct decision.

 

_If it was Sorey again, you would fight…_

 

She shook her head, making an odd frustrated noise and turning her mouth into the pillow. Sorey was _Mikleo’s._ He was happy.

 

So why couldn’t she stop thinking about him?

 

Alisha allowed her eyes to flutter back open, frowning and shutting her phone to instead hold it tightly to her chest. She wondered how serious Mikleo and Sorey’s relationship was. It was hard to tell, one could pass them off as best friends if they truly wanted to. She frowned, clutching the sheets and pulling them over her head.

 

Had they kissed?

 

She blushed, her pale cheeks lighting a flame. She wanted to say _of course,_ but a nagging feeling in her head said _maybe not._

 

She remembered how Mikleo described their relationship. Not knowing where it began, not worrying about if it ended. He smiled like it was obvious, like their love was just a thing that was _supposed_ to happen. So natural, like breathing. Their touches so simple and yet so heavy, their glances so brief and yet so meaningful. Like they had known each other since the beginning of time, lives and lives before any of them had ever taken a single breath.

 

Alisha’s vision became bleary. How had she ever expected to compete with that?

 

The fighter’s fire in her heart still roared, unable to be diminished. Screaming _screw fate, work hard and you could have him too._

Her logical, smart brain responded, _you could’ve had him, if you had worked hard._

She wondered what Mikleo had done, what Sorey had done behind closed doors. She remembered what Rose had said, the entire speech. But what rang loudly in her ears tonight was “- _but I know that Sorey probably works his ass off to make Mikleo happy, and Mikleo does everything in his power to return the favor twice fold.”_

 

What had they done?

 

She remembered showing up to Sorey’s house that morning, all happy and giddy. He said Mikleo was there, she had thought nothing of it. Boys could sleep over at one another’s houses like girls, so why not? But now comparing to when they had all showed up for the study session at his house, it was probably something bigger. They were probably already lovers at that time, even without the label.

 

She wondered what Sorey had _seen,_ what Mikleo had _heard._ The little knowing looks that seemed to be brought up during certain conversations, ones that were also shared with Edna or Lailah, or recently sometimes Zaveid.

 

It was times like these where although she hated to admit it, she knew _nothing_ about Sorey. She had seen him sad, she had seen him close to tears, but she had never seen him weak. She had heard him speak of ruins, she had heard his eyes grow sad. She had heard him speak with a tone of wonder of his dead mother whom he had never known.

 

But yet she knew nothing.

 

She took a deep breath, and released it.

 

She knew nothing of Sergei either. But she wanted to learn. A new flame lit in her heart. She wanted to _learn._ She wanted to find out if this would be a good thing, she wanted to know more about him than anyone did.

 

She pounded her mattress. She could do this. She could fight, she could win, she could care, she could love.

 

She sent Mikleo a text back, hoping to god he was asleep and that she also hadn’t woken him up when she caught sight of the horrifying time.

 

_“I won’t give up”_

~

 

When Mikleo woke up, the world was blurry.

 

He blinked, feeling the tears which were sticking his eyelashes together and obscuring his already poor vision.

 

 _Oh._ He was crying.

 

He sat up, getting off of his side and facing the top of his bed. His legs were splayed out to either side of him as the tears continued to roll down his porcelain face. An unstoppable flow, a dam that was spilling but refused to burst. It happened, it happened sometimes. Whether it was some sort of dream, or a thought, or the emptiness that sometimes still ripped and overcame his heart, deciding it was time to let something go.

 

They were always silent, he never made a noise.

 

He looked outside. The sun was just rising, he imagined it was pretty but with his impaired vision he couldn’t really see. He wiped his face, hoping that the tears were mostly done and fumbled around for his glasses, finally grasping them and sighing as the world came into a better focus.

 

He pressed the home button on his phone, mostly to check the time, not expecting there to be any notifications. But there was one.

 

_Alisha Diphda 2:43 AM_

_I won’t give up._

He chuckled, giving his phone a sad smile as he slid out of bed with controlled grace, walking towards the closet with fluid movements, perfect control, precision. Something utterly and totally fake.

 

She was so much braver than he ever was, or will be.

 

Especially since when, as he walked down the cold wooden steps, he heard the polite yet urgent knock on his door and immediately felt sick.

 

“You’re early,” he said to the shut door, but a whisper into the cold morning air of the house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I'm preparing for the world to end here, not Mikleo's slightly problematic uncle coming for a visit and some Alisha lish.


	25. Because When it Rains, it Pours

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *me, writing this the day before yesterday*  
> They're going to hate me  
> *me, writing this yesterday*  
> Wow, they're really going to hate me  
> *me, proof reading this morning*  
> I forgot how much they're going to hate me  
> *me, now*  
> *stares at post button*  
> lol oh well *click*

Sorey woke up practically bouncing off the walls, at five in the morning. He went on a cleaning spree, read a bunch of books, reviewed some of his notes to make sure when the snow and ice melted and they went back to school, he hadn’t forgotten anything. All the while, waiting for his phone to buzz, his patience running thin when it became eight.

 

Then again, Mikleo had been up fairly late last night. Sorey wouldn’t be surprised if he slept in until nine. Anything past that though and Sorey would assume him dead, and stomp over there himself.

 

Or, that’s what he felt like doing. His logic told him _that’s possessive and clingy_ but his heart kept screaming _no, something is wrong._

Something that sent chest pains through his chest and sent the tickles of butterflies’ wings fluttering in his stomach every step, every time he stopped to think, every time he picked up his phone. It was agony in a way Sorey had never known existed.

 

He prayed he was just overreacting.

 

~

 

“Hello,” Mikleo said, the cold winter air seeping into the house from the open door. His voice was steady and calm, and yet as cold as ice. Millions of times more terrifying than yelling or screaming, or losing one’s temper. He glared up into his uncle’s eyes, serious and glazed with a tinge of hurt behind them.

 

Mikleo didn’t care.

 

“May I come in, it’s rather cold.”

 

Mikleo stepped aside, and shut the door behind him. It still seemed cold in the house, as if Michael had just brought it along with him. “If Edna gets mad because you’re here, don’t blame me.” Mikleo said. Michael tilted his head back at him, dirty brown locks obscuring part of his face as he pivoted halfway. His eyes were violet, but they were different from Mikleo’s. Only rarely shining purple in the light, usually a dead blue, unmoving and sad. Like the depths of the ocean. They were never the dark rich amethyst that Mikleo’s shone.

 

He turned back, waltzing over to the chairs. Mikleo sighed, sitting on the side closest to the hearth, as far away from Michael as possible. He could still faintly smell the scent of dead ashes and burnt wood.

 

“What do you want?”

 

Michael only tilted his head, placing a fist on his jaw to rest it, and staring at Mikleo intently. “What, not allowed to visit my nephew?”

 

“Not when you’re a murderer.”

 

Silence filled the room.

 

“You really still blame me?” Michael spat. “Like hell I could’ve done anything about it!” He said, bordering on yelling, his eyes now alit with an angry fire. Mikleo continued to give him a blank stare, his pale face not showing a hint of emotion, his eyes not even glittering, simultaneously full of boredom and wisdom.

 

Mikleo hummed, “You could’ve tried.”

 

“You _really_ think it didn’t hurt me too?” He growled.

 

“I’m sure it hurt,” Mikleo deadpanned. “Even you’re human.” Michael tried to butt in, Mikleo only continued. “But, it clearly only hurt as an afterthought.”

 

Michael’s hands were shaking and he was clutching his pants. “You… You’re a disgrace to her,” his voice shook with anger, low and terrifying. Mikleo still remembers when it was young and jubilant. “She could’ve raised you better, sure. Could’ve stopped your strange crossdressing habit at a young age,” Mikleo twitched. “But _you’re_ the one who embarrassed her, can’t you see what you were doing?”

 

Mikleo stood up with perfectly precise grace, turning away from Michael so he could now properly see the shiny, silvery hair that fell all the way to the nape of his neck, hovering just over the rest of his slanted shoulders.

 

It was his fault it wasn’t tumbling down to his waist now, curling in beautiful fine strands.

 

“Please leave.” He said simply.

 

“Why?”

“Because this isn’t doing any good. And we’re not going to work through our differences.”

 

“You-“ Michael growled, stomping up to Mikleo. His loud footsteps resounded throughout the room, shook the house. He reached to his shoulder to try and grab it.

 

Mikleo slapped his hand, only closing his eyes, cold blue in the dark lighting, and turning away. “Don’t touch me,” he snapped, and then took a breath. “What business couldn’t you wait to do before the snow and ice melts, anyway?”

 

“I wanted to study some of the artifacts here _because_ of the snow and ice.”

 

Mikleo quirked a brow. When he was younger he would’ve bombarded his uncle with “ _why?”_ questions. But at the moment he didn’t care about anything other than Michael going way. “That’s lovely, why don’t you go do that then?”

 

“Where’s Eizen?” Michael sighed, backing away. Mikleo flinched, he hoped the man behind him didn’t catch it.

 

“Not here. On a trip.”

 

“Oh, for how long?”

 

Mikleo released an exasperated breath, “Since when does he ever tell us that?”

 

“He left.”

 

Mikleo whipped around to face Michael, horrified glare in his eyes. He stumbled backwards a few steps, suddenly feeling oddly vulnerable. A petrifying reminder that when talking to this man, all your cards were on the table.

 

The only way you could ever win is make them unusable.

 

“You could stay with me,” Michael said softly. Caring hesitance in his tone. “I would at least feed you. I loved your mother and I’m not letting her child stay here.” His snappy annoying tone was back, Mikleo shriveled his nose in disgust.

 

He shook his head, “I like it here. And yes, you’ll feed me, but I can also feed myself.” He snapped back. “Eizen pays the bills, Edna takes responsibility for herself, and Zaveid,” Michael raised an eyebrow at the new name, “helps me. I don’t need you.”

 

Michael shook his head, “No, someone your age needs a responsible adult-“

 

“You _dare_ call yourself responsible?” Mikleo’s voice now shook with anger, his mask seeming to slowly melt away as his icy eyes shone like daggers. “You’ll only make me _miserable._ You’ll only take me away from the things I love, destroy the happiness I found without your help.” He continued to snap harshly, leaning forward on one foot closer to Michael. His uncle furrowed his eyebrows angrily.

 

“Do you have a girlfriend?”

 

“Boyfriend.”

 

Silence overcame them, Michael looked like a ticking time bomb, and Mikleo might remind one of icicles hanging overhead. The chance that they fall unlikely, but still there, still slightly nerve racking.  A constant warning presence above you.

 

Michael sighed, “Why are you like this?”

 

“I could ask you the very same thing,” Mikleo argued defensively. Michael twitched, opening his mouth. “Yell and Edna will impale you with her umbrella.” Mikleo dared.

 

“Your pretty sister can’t do shit,” he snapped.

 

“Uh-huh.” Mikleo said, tilting his head and looking at his uncle quizzically. “So then how come she’s the one who got me out of your awful house?”

 

Michael growled.

 

Mikleo sighed, again. “Just-“ Mikleo rubbed his forehead. “Just _go.”_

_“No.”_

Mikleo snapped his head up, looking into his uncle’s fiery eyes in shock. “No. I need you to understand your mistakes.”

 

 _“My mistakes?”_ Mikleo said, incredulous. He laughed coldly, hollow and dead. “You have to realize _your own_ mistakes before you can give a lecture about _mine_.” He continued, still in utter disbelief.

 

“I told you!” Michael screeched. “There’s nothing I could’ve done!”

 

“You could’ve moved!” Mikleo yelled back. “You could’ve moved! You could’ve done something other than stand there!” He continued, starting to walk threateningly towards Michael’s slowly paling face. “You could’ve made up for your mistakes by taking care of what she loved, you could’ve supported what she did, you could’ve _tried.”_ Angry tears were rolling down Mikleo’s face now.

 

_“All I ever wanted you to do was try.”_

He heard footsteps pounding down the stairs, but ignored them. Michael’s face was laced with anger, Mikleo pursed his lips.

 

“You… You have no right to say that.” Michael growled.

 

Mikleo narrowed his eyes, “I just-“

“YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO TALK DOWN ABOUT MY SISTER!” He roared.

 

Mikleo and Michael both froze. Mikleo was suddenly unsure of what hurt more, the cruel suggestion of the words, or his throbbing cheek.

 

Michael was staring at Mikleo in total and utter horror, his hand vibrating harshly, Mikleo reflected a similar expression. He heard Edna and Zaveid’s screams of anger in the background, but they were only that, background noises. His ears were ringing and his cheek suddenly throbbed harder. He hissed, taking two stumbling steps away from the assaulter and clutching his cheek.

 

“N-No… N-No…” Michael tried to speak, Mikleo only collapsed onto the floor, his limbs seeming too weak to hold him up. There was a clatter, and he caught an umbrella rolling out of the corner of his eye and boots pounding towards him.

 

Edna dropped down at his side, usually bored teal eyes full of worry. Mikleo slowly became aware of the tears running down his face, blinking as they continued to spill, noises wanted to burble up in his throat. The dam was no longer just spilling, it was breaking. Years and years of pent up pressure slowly eroding it away.

 

And one final simple blow sending it all tumbling down.

 

He began to sniffle. He couldn’t hear Zaveid yelling, or see Michael being shoved out the door by the huge man. He flinched away from Edna as she touched his shoulder, barely grazing it an attempt for a gentle, comforting touch. He whimpered, scooting away.

 

_Leave me alone._

_Don’t touch me._

Voices echoed in his head, _“If you keep boxing yourself up one day you’re going to explode you idiot.”_ Mikleo sniffled, his own head responding with the exact same thing he had spoken aloud then.

 

_You think I don’t know that?_

~

 

Sorey’s phone rang and he jumped out of his trance, looking up from his work. He fumbled over, swiping without looking at the contact, expecting who it would be.

 

_“Get your ass over here.”_

Sorey blinked.

 

That was not Mikleo.

 

“Excuse me?” He said slowly, not knowing how to respond to Edna’s harsh, borderline panicked tone.

 

 _“Don’t question just come.”_ She snapped. Sorey blinked, gripping the phone tighter, jogging his knee.

 

“Did something happen?” He whispered nervously. Edna snorted.

 

 _“No, I’m just begging you to hurry up and come over here for fun, obviously.”_ She replied, her words venomous and dripping with stinging poison. Sorey flinched.

 

“O-Okay… Wait, what should I expe-?”

 

The phone went dead. Sorey sighed. He began grabbing his fuzzy boots and black, heavy jacket. Fumbling around in his little coat closet for his favorite blue hat. He found it, grabbing it out of the top and letting the softness of it squish in his hands for a moment, it was the only thing that didn’t itch his head. He shook, he needed to hurry.

 

He threw the warm clothes on, and then looked around. He grabbed a little backpack and shoved a change of clothes inside it. It was a very Mikleo-like thing to do, but he did it anyway. Just having the feeling he might need it.

 

He then hurried out the door, immediately almost face planting as he stepped on a giant patch of black ice. He steadied himself, took a deep breath and continued speed walking at the speed of a run, sliding and slipping as he was not really paying attention to what he was doing.

 

 _This is why Mikleo wouldn’t let you come over._ His brain scolded him. Sorey grunted and flinched.

 

He shouldn’t have listened.

 

He picked up the pace, now jog-sliding everywhere before breaking into a full sprint, dancing around ice and splashing through disgusting slush.

 

Minutes later he made it to the walkway to their house, sliding as he came to a skidding stop and racing back forward as he attempted to make up for the time his lost on the bad turn. He practically slammed into the front door, reaching his hands out in front of him to stop himself, taking a moment to catch his heaving breath. The cold air making his lungs rattle as he attempted to breathe through his now sore throat.

 

He opened the door, slidng inside and throwing the little bag down, beginning to shrug off layers and shove away his shoes.

 

He finally looked up.

 

Zaveid was sitting beside a small, pale figure, who was curled up in a tiny ball. His knees were pressed into his eye sockets and his longer hair was a general mess, his glasses lying beside him. Even from this distance Sorey could tell that his sides were shaking and his breath was heaving. Zaveid’s eyes were pitiful and sad, unsure of what to do as his hands hovered over the crying albino, never actually touching him.

 

Edna stomped in. “About time.” She snapped, but she was practically vibrating with worry. She was holding a bowl and was mixing it aggressively, banging the metal whisker against it and making a horrible sound.

 

Sorey ran towards his lover, watching as Zaveid stood and backed away, moving towards Edna but keeping his eyes trailed on Mikleo the whole time. As Sorey got close to him he slowed his pace, approaching carefully, as one would approach a frightened baby animal.

 

He kneeled down.

 

“Hey,” he said softly. He watched Mikleo go stiff, and the sobbing stopped briefly.

 

His eyes widened as he looked over his knees, big with surprise, relief, pain and emotion. Sorey bit his lip, settling a hand on Mikleo’s knee. “What happened?” He said gently. Mikleo blinked, and then shut his eyes, burrowing his head back into himself and shaking it aggressively. Sorey paused, debating what to do for a second.

 

He grabbed the purple glasses, then suddenly he scooped his lover into the air. This earned him a small whimper, but then Mikleo relaxed, releasing a breath and pressing his head to Sorey’s chest, clutching his shirt.

 

Sorey looked over his shoulder as he began to carry the boy to his room, giving Edna and Zaveid a weak smile.

 

“We’ll be right back.”

 

And then he turned away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Been foreshadowing since chapter 1 folksssssss


	26. Nail in the Coffin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How many trite phrases can one use in a fic, and how many times can you use them?
> 
> A lot!  
> We don't know how to be subtle here. Subtle hinting doesn't exist.

It was strange how limp in his arms Mikleo was. He didn’t mind being carried around or pampered occasionally, but usually he didn’t just _sink into Sorey._ Like he needed to be carried, like he couldn’t have walked if Sorey had asked him to.

 

Under normal circumstances Mikleo would be squirming and whining and insisting that he was fine and that Sorey should stop worrying, and that he was silly. But he was silent, his fingers even loose in his shirt. Not even really holding it any more as much as just allowing his fingers to hang. His face was turned to the side, nose nuzzled into Sorey’s chest with his eyes closed.

 

Sorey studied it, tracing the lines that didn’t look so much relaxed as they did… He couldn’t explain it, his lover just looked dead.

 

Sorey pushed Mikleo’s cracked door open with his hip, kicking it closed behind him with his foot. He flinched at the loud slam, not meaning to have hit it that hard. Mikleo flinched in his arms also.

 

He put the glasses down on the bedside table awkwardly, adjusting Mikleo once before pivoting to set him down on the bed. He put him down gently, sitting him upright, if it could be called upright. Mikleo was hunched over, head hanging with his shoulders slumped in defeat, a strange look on the boy.

 

"Hey Mikleo?" Sorey said softly. “Mikleo, what’s wrong?” He only sniffled, and Sorey gently pushed his head up with two fingers under his jaw, exploring his face again now that he could see it fully. He was pale, deathly pale. Not the pretty porcelain skin that Mikleo usually had, but instead his cheeks were translucent, and his lips were drained of blood. Which made the swollen irritated, puffy red on Mikleo’s right cheek a stark contrast to everything else. Sorey frowned, placing his entire hand on Mikleo’s jaw and rubbing his cheek gently, earning himself a flinch.

 

“Wha-“

 

“Everything.”

 

Sorey stopped, blinking at Mikleo’s sudden words. He looked at Mikleo in confusion, not sure what that meant.

 

“Everything’s wrong.” Mikleo finally managed to choke. Sorey’s eyes flew wide, and he jerked his hand away from Mikleo and dropped down onto his knees below him, watching as he began to bite his already pale lip, turning it white as sobs began to rack his small frail body. Tears overwhelmed Mikleo and began to spill out of his eyes, cascading down his face. “H-Hey…” Sorey said softly, hands hovering over Mikleo. Instincts telling him to make his lover stop crying, his head oddly saying _no._

Sorey stood back up, vaguely aware that Mikleo was now starting to make constrained sobbing noises, blinking desperately in order to try and prevent his tears. Sorey settled down on the bed gently, scooping his hands under Mikleo’s armpits and causing him to yelp and desperately protest as he dragged him toward himself. A stark contrast from earlier.

 

After having a far more difficult time than he should have, he finally wrapped his arms around Mikleo, pressing his head into his chest. Mikleo stilled, and Sorey only pulled him closer, nuzzling his nose against his ear before whispering: “It’s okay to cry.”

 

Mikleo didn’t move an inch for a deathly slow few seconds. Didn’t breathe, didn’t do anything. Sorey waited, and finally he heard a pitiful choking noise, felt Mikleo’s sides start to shake and he pushed the top of his head into Sorey’s chest, only to readjust himself to put his face into it instead. He grabbed Sorey’s shirt, pushing himself closer so that he was in Sorey’s lap.

 

All Sorey could do was rub Mikleo’s back as he began to whine, and the whines became sobs, and the sobs became full on wailing until Mikleo was so close to Sorey that their hips, their chests, everything was touching. Mikleo’s head tilted to rest on Sorey’s jaw and his face buried into his shoulder as he screamed, muffling the sounds as to not hurt Sorey’s ears. His arms were hugging around Sorey’s back crushingly, occasionally digging his nails into Sorey and grabbing at his shirt. Desperate, everything was so desperate, as if the second he trusted Sorey to stay he would slip through his arms and disappear.

 

They stayed like that until Mikleo’s voice was raw, his head was pounding and his eyes couldn’t produce any more tears even if he had tried. His limbs felt heavy and he was exhausted. He didn’t want to move, he just wanted to sleep. He let out a low, painful groan and then followed it up with a higher pitched whine. It was pitiful, but Mikleo was beyond caring at this point.

 

Sorey rubbed his back, leaning back a little to try and get a good look at him. He gently put a hand on Mikleo’s chest and pressed, not making him pull away but suggesting it if he could. Mikleo only pulled away just enough to allow Sorey to see his face, which was probably a total mess. It felt like a mess, it felt sticky with salt, tired and heavy, red and hot. Sorey rubbed at Mikleo’s cheek gently with his sleeve, squishing it and making the boy tilt his head.

 

“You alright?” Sorey asked, his voice laced and written with concern. It was a stupid question, of course Mikleo wasn’t alright. But he wanted to make sure nothing was physically hurting. Mikleo just hummed, shaking his head to move Sorey’s hand away, finally relaxing his arms, instead letting them droop lazily around his waist. Moving his head to rest it against Sorey’s collarbone sleepily as he tried to find a comfortable position in his lap.

 

Sorey, despite everything, gave Mikleo a fond pout that he couldn’t see. “You’re probably exhausted,” Sorey continued gently, patting Mikleo’s waist now. “You should rest.”

 

But they didn’t move for another whole minute, Mikleo eventually weakly pushing away, off of Sorey’s lap. Sorey also moved back, stretching his legs in realization that they were stiff from sitting cross legged. How long had they been like that for? Sorey furrowed his brow.

 

He looked up at Mikleo. He was rubbing his eyes, trying to get some of the stickiness off of his lashes and cheeks. Sorey slid off the bed, trotting to the bathroom to grab a wet towel for him.

 

When he came back Mikleo was already curled up in a ball under the covers, only flickering glazed violet eyes open when Sorey strode around the corner, rolling Mikleo over to clean off his face despite his grumbles and whines. Mikleo glared at him all the while anyway, but the fact that he wasn’t smacking at Sorey’s hands told him that he was actually mildly enjoying it. Or at least appreciated it.

 

Sorey grunted. Mikleo could really use to be more direct.

 

Sorey shifted away, hopping off of the bed and striding back into the bathroom, hanging the little towel up to dry. It was soft on his hands, all of Mikleo’s towels were always soft. It was an odd thing to notice, but Sorey always did.

 

Instead of walking back to the bed when he exited the bathroom, Sorey headed for the door. He could feel Mikleo’s eyes on him the entire time, trailing his every move. He finally turned as he put his hand on the doorknob, finding Mikleo’s pretty gaze full of anxiety. He gave him a gentle smile.

 

“I’ll be right back. I’m just going down stairs real quick.” He said softly. “You okay?” He added, happy to stay if Mikleo really needed it. Which, he probably did, but Sorey swore he would really be quick.

 

Mikleo didn’t offer a response, only rolled onto his other side, away from the door. Sorey sighed, remembering to turn off the lights as he exited, even if the room was still plenty bright with the sun, and shut the door behind him.

 

He began to walk down the stairs, his footsteps making hollow noises and bouncing around the stairwell and resounding underneath the steps. As he peaked around the corner he was pleased to see a head full of long white hair, and if he looked hard he could see the very top of dirty blonde peaking over the couch.

 

He meandered over to them, both pairs of eyes locked onto him intensely. He ignored it, settling down on the very end of the couch, far away from the two judging, anticipant eyes.

 

“Well?” Edna snapped. Sorey sighed, looking to her. She was glaring at him, but her trembling hands gripping her shorts said that she was terrified.

 

“Well what?” Sorey decided to answer, crossing his arms and letting his back flop against the back of the couch. Edna growled.

 

“Is he okay?” Zaveid asked, his voice raised with surprising amounts of worry. He looked over to Zaveid, he often forgot the man could be incredibly emotional when he wasn’t teasing or flirting. Especially when it came to others, and not himself.

 

“…Define okay?” Sorey asked sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck.

 

Edna grunted, turning away from both of them and shutting her eyes, her jaw taught. “He just wailed to two and a half hours Zaveid, no he’s not okay.”

 

Sorey blinked at her. “Two and a half…?”

 

“You guys were up there for nearly two and a half hours,” Zaveid supplied helpfully, brows still pushed together in concern, but he turned away to cross his arms across his chest. Zaveid leaned into the couch, tilting his head up. “We heard him screaming for about half of it.”

 

Sorey sighed painfully, leaning away and biting his lip. He took a deep breath, “He exhausted himself, he’s resting.” He said slowly. He thought for a moment, nobody responded to his statement, just continued to look solemn. Sorey’s eyes finally flickered back toward them.

 

“What happened?”

 

Silence.

 

Sorey’s eyebrows furrowed further. “His cheek was swollen-“

 

Edna growled, suddenly standing up angrily. “Damn that fucking bastard,” she barked, stomping away into the depths of the house. Sorey watched in amazement, eyes flickering to Zaveid for help.

 

The large man sighed. “We don’t really know either,” he admitted. “Edna just said that Mikleo’s Uncle was… Rude,” Sorey noted that Edna had probably used much stronger words than that, “when he was living with him.” Zaveid scratched his neck, “Edna and I came down because we heard yelling, and when we came he was here.”

 

Zaveid gulped. “The bastard hit him, pretty hard.” Sorey’s eyes widened, and he pressed his palms against his thighs and leaned closer to Zaveid’s direction, as if it would help. “Granted, he looked a bit upset about it himself but… Still inexcusable, obviously. And then I guess Mikleo had a mental breakdown. And here we are!” Zaveid “beamed” at Sorey painfully.

 

Sorey gnawed on his lip. “I’ll ask him when he feels better…” He mumbled, face scrunched up with worry. What had happened with Michael? What could’ve gone down that made Mikleo wail like that?

 

He paused, remembering Mikleo’s words.

 

_“Everything’s wrong.”_

“Maybe…” Sorey mumbled softly, pursing his lips. “Michael was just the final nail in the coffin.”

 

They sat in silence for a while. It wasn’t uncomfortable, both of them thinking, pondering. Sorey finally sighed, standing up and brushing off his jeans. “I’m going to go sit up there with him, he looked lonely when I left. And he doesn’t sleep well anyway,” he grumbled, continuing on to readjust his shirt. He looked over to Zaveid, who nodded vaguely, face still laced with open concern.

 

Sorey gave him a sad smile, walking back over to him and patting him on the shoulder, making the man look up. “Don’t worry about it too much,” Sorey gave him a smile. “’Kay?”

 

And he trotted off, not even registering the pounding rain on the roof.

 

~

 

It was pouring.

 

Lailah stared outside as Edna angrily ranted about Michael, and how it was _“Eizen’s goddamn fault he wasn’t here”_ and about Mikleo, and the world, and the stupid rain.

 

The concerned wind was howling, ripping at her windows, battering the world aggressively. The rain, was coming down in sheets. Hitting the ground and seeping deeply into the Earth, contaminating it with its sadness as it wailed. Lightning could be seen flashing from Lailah’s window, daring and brave, suffering and screaming.

 

Even the Lord seemed to agree with the state.

 

Lailah registered the silence from the sudden lack of throbbing in here ear due to Edna’s screaming, and took it in comfortably. Not really having anything to say in return. Finally she sighed deeply, “What’s done is done.” She said softy. Edna only hummed in agreement, steam having worn off. “I’ll come visit when it becomes safe enough, okay?” She said softly. This horrid rain would freeze once it finally stopped, leaving sheets of ice on the road. And with this forceful storm, no one was going anywhere anytime soon anyway.

 

Lailah wondered if school would be extended further into summer.

 

“Okay.” Edna said simply, back to her normal self. Calm and composed. Lailah stood slowly, walking towards the window with utter grace, lifting her skirt gently as she watched the rain pummel it threateningly, not even flinching.

 

“Edna,” she said softly. “Did you know whenever it rains, it tends to pour?”

 

~

 

When Sorey walked into the room it was darker than he remembered.

 

Now that he thought about it, it hadn’t been that light anyway, even with it being the day and the blinds open. Slowly, Sorey began to register the loud pounding, and realized what the noise was. Sorey’s eyes widened as he stared out the window, rain coming down in horrible sheets, threatening to break the windows with the wind also banging at them. He was sure the ground was becoming nothing but soft mush.

 

He listened as thunder began to gently roll, and the entire room lit up with blinding light, making him cringe and blink.

 

Despite everything, his lips quirked up. His veins spilling over with the bright lightning, his heart pounding and suddenly he felt invigorated.

 

Lightning made him feel brave and powerful, in the way water made him feel calm and at home.

 

Finally his eyes locked on Mikleo, and he noticed how incredibly uncomfortable he looked. Furrowing his eyebrows he paced towards him. His white hair was sprawled and tangled everywhere, as if he had been tossing and turning. The roots looked wet from sweat, and yet he was shivering uncontrollably. His teeth chattered aggressively and his was jaw taught with stress. He was also clutching the blankets, pulling them close for either protection against his dreams or something to hold on to.

 

Sorey slid in, careful not to wake Mikleo up. He shifted and arm around him slowly, not wanting to shock him awake and make him panic, having made that mistake too many times. He gently lowered himself down, and pressing his nose just above Mikleo’s ear, and beginning to massage his sternum gently, whispering meaningless things.

 

Slowly but surely, the tension from Mikleo’s muscles withdrew until his face was relaxed and innocent, his breathing was even and gentle and his eyes remained closed. Sorey adjusted himself, pressing his cheek against Mikleo’s own and slipping one of his legs in-between his lover’s.

 

Sorey focused on the window. The rain seemed softer now. It was still pouring, but it was no longer nailing the windows and coming down in horrifying sheets.

 

He tightened an arm around Mikleo, his face softening. “It really did pour, huh?”

 

~

 

Alisha tapped her heal on her bed board, staring at her phone. Her pale blonde eyebrows were furrowed, and she looked concerned. She had already called Mikleo several times over the span of the day, none of which were answered.

 

It was strange, because whilst Mikleo was bad about answering his phone’s texts, he usually always answered calls. At least hers, anyway. Usually she would just say that he’s out and about, or busy. But it was pouring and thundering, the power in her house flickering and the being washed away in heaps. It was dangerous.

 

It wasn’t like she was calling him constantly. She had called him throughout different intervals throughout the day, hours apart. Hoping that he just hadn’t been near his phone and the second he was near it and she rung him, he would scramble for it and apologize profusely for missing her calls.

 

She furrowed her brows. Maybe he was tired of her? She found it highly unlikely that he was resting. She shook her head harshly. No, Mikleo’s not like that. It would be rude to think of him to be able to be so petty.

 

She stared at her phone, the dark screen shining funnily in the low light. Then… Was something wrong? What _could_ be wrong? Could he, Edna or Zaveid have gotten into a fight? But even then she suspected he would just answer eventually and make up some dumb excuse, pretending like everything was fine. She thought about calling Lailah, but while Lailah was generally good for advice, she wasn’t sure she grasped the entire situation the same way Mikleo did. This time around, at least.

 

She flopped down on the bed behind her and groaned, staring at her white ceiling. An odd mismatch to the pink and blue cotton candy walls.

 

“The one time I need you to answer, Mikleo.” She grumbled. She didn’t _really_ mean that. Okay, so she kind of did. But she didn’t really blame Mikleo. She was a bit concerned something was actually wrong, but she was probably just overreacting.

 

Actually, now that she thought about it, he had probably just gone on a cleaning spree and had forgotten to take his phone along with him. Mikleo could clean for an entire day without stopping. It was fairly impressive, probably not entirely healthy and usually ended up consuming all of his time.

 

She bobbed her head. Mm. That sounds right.

 

She looked out towards the window at the rain. The rain that Mikleo apparently loved, the thunderstorms that he craved. The wind that Mikleo appreciated and the Earth that made him feel at home. She remembered him telling her that once, the words struck her odd.

 

But today, the rain made her feel queasy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is 50% cuddles 50% drama you're welcome


	27. Your Faults are Sins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This entire chapter is dedicated to Drago. Because power outages (even though there weren't that many cuddles whoops).

Mikleo woke up with a pounding headache that seemed to vibrate throughout his entire scull with each throb. Everything was slightly out of focus, his chest was sore and his stomach hurt. He tilted his gaze to Sorey, mostly only able to make out a mop of brown hair, the boy’s sleepy face buried into the pillow. Sorey’s upper arm was underneath Mikleo’s shoulder, and Mikleo slowly realized that the steady, comforting heartbeat under his hand wasn’t his own.

 

Mikleo’s eyes softened, and he slowly closed his hand around Sorey’s shirt, allowing his lids to flutter back closed, perfectly content with drifting back off into sleep.

 

But Sorey mumbled, turning over onto his back in his sleep and twitching a couple of times. Mikleo frowned, contemplated kicking him in the leg and then sighed. He slowly pulled himself halfway up, surprised by the sheer amount of effort the simple movement took his arms almost collapsed underneath of him again. But he regained his composure, dragging himself onto Sorey’s chest. One ear on his heart, his hand pulled close to his own chest, always refusing to stray far from him in his sleep.

 

“Finally,” Mikleo flinched, feeling the rumble in Sorey’s chest as he spoke. Mikleo didn’t move except to grab the covers and pull them further over himself, he was freezing. “My arm is completely numb.” Sorey whined, lamely flopping the arm Mikleo had been sleeping on to make his point.

 

“You didn’t have to hold me like that then,” Mikleo grumbled, his voice came out rough and scratchy, making his throat scream. “I thought you were asleep?”

 

Sorey stretched his arms over his head, manually moving his left arm with his other hand in attempt to make it wake up. “I was until you moved,” he yawned. Mikleo kept slowly sliding off of Sorey with every movement he made, having to keep readjusting himself.

 

Finally Sorey stopped, and instead just settled a hand on Mikleo’s shoulder, beginning to rub up and down his arm. “Are you cold?”

 

“When am I not cold?” Mikleo said softly, attempting not to agitate his throat or crack his voice. Sorey didn’t say anything in response, just wrapped his arms around him and adjusted him slightly so he hold him better.

 

Mikleo tuned into Sorey’s breathing and the rain. It was now thrumming, not pounding. Rhythmic and smooth. He did not fall back asleep, only dozed. Happy with snuggling against Sorey’s chest and listening to his very own background song.

 

Sorey suddenly spoke out of the blue. It was soft and cautious, “Do you feel a bit better?” He said gently, unsure.

 

Mikleo didn’t open his eyes, only thought for a moment. Eventually he just hummed, soft, low and comforting. Sorey didn’t seem satisfied with it though, shifting nervously underneath Mikleo. He fidgeted with his own hands around Mikleo’s waist for a minute, the albino only waiting for him to speak again.

 

“What happened?”

 

Emotionless silence filled the room.

 

“I-I mean Edna told me that Michael came,” Mikleo flinched at the name, “and-and that he hit you, and that you guys were yelling. But I… What-“

 

“My throat hurts.” Mikleo interrupted, his voice cracking awfully in his attempt to speak over Sorey’s voice, offering proof for his excuse not to answer. He felt Sorey tighten his hands around his waist, stiff and agitated out of worry and frustration. Knowing he could do nothing to make Mikleo talk right now.

 

Sorey put a hand on Mikleo’s forehead, just for the sake of it. “You’re actually a bit warm,” Sorey said with surprise, expecting it to be completely from his earlier mental breakdown.

 

“Really?” Mikleo said curiously, his voice still low and quiet. He shifted on Sorey’s chest, wiggling until Sorey got the message and dropped his arms, then rolling off onto his own back. He shifted his head to look at Sorey, eyes roaming up and down his body, having pulled the blankets with him and simultaneously pulled most of them off of Sorey.

 

Sorey sat up, dusting Mikleo’s cheek with his knuckles before sliding out of bed. He immediately shivered, why was it so cold?

 

His question was answered when he went to turn on the lights. He flipped the switch several times with no response, and frowned.

 

“The powers out.”

 

Mikleo groaned loudly, pulling the covers over his head before suddenly crawling out of them and sitting up all the way, swaying a bit with sleepiness.

 

“You know… I’m actually pretty surprised it hadn’t gone out yet. With all the snow and thunderstorms and such.” Sorey pondered quietly.

 

Mikleo yawned, “Probably plot convenience.”

 

“Huh?” Sorey inquired, tilting his head and trudging back around towards the bed, feeling his way through the semi-dark.

 

Mikleo only waved his hand casually. “Nothing, don’t worry about it.” He sighed. “Ladylake gets a lot of snow and rain. They’re used to this kind of stuff, so they’re pretty good about handling the power.” He shrugged, fumbling around his bedside table until he found his brush, beginning to try and work through the knots in his awful bedhead. “It’ll probably be back on soon.”

 

Sorey hummed, not entirely pleased with the way Mikleo’s voice sounded like it was going to die any second. He stopped in front of Mikleo, tilting his head. Mikleo looked up, and was caught off guard by the bright green eyes that seemed to glow in the dim lighting, the dark flecks that were always settled there pulsing with gentle brightness. “Should we go downstairs then?”

 

Mikleo hesitated. He knew the fire place would be lit, but he was also freezing and without the power he couldn’t even pull out his electric blanket. He simply nodded, yanking the brush through his hair one more time and pulling a hairband off his wrist, twisting it into a basic ponytail.

 

Sorey tilted his head, and Mikleo gave him a questioning look in return. Sorey put a hand on Mikleo’s little face, careful to not touch the bruising skin on his cheek and tilting Mikleo’s head to the side to look at his hair.

 

“It looks fluffier when you put it up.” Mikleo snorted and giggled, before it turned into soft coughing and a shiver. Sorey frowned, eyeing Mikleo in concern. Mikleo shook his head, catching the look.

 

“I’m fine. I am going to raid Edna’s cough drop stash, though.” He croaked, standing up and wobbling across the room. Sorey questioned if his tiny feet were freezing with no socks, but shrugged and followed.

 

Mikleo really did take some of Edna’s cough drops. He stashed a few of them in his pant pocket and popped one in his mouth to begin sucking on it. Sorey had a nagging feeling that if anyone else did this they would have the tip of an umbrella impaled in their throat. It wasn’t the worst death Edna could offer, though. At least it was quick.

 

Sorey shivered.

 

When they walked down the stairs and reached the living room, Mikleo immediately switched sides with Sorey, sticking close by him. Sorey was confused by this at first, but then he caught Mikleo’s gaze, warily eyeing the burning fire.

 

Sorey pretended he didn’t notice. They moved into the center of the living room. Zaveid was curled up under about five blankets. Edna was also curled up on top of his legs, using the top four of the blankets and leaving one in between them. There was a little battery powered lantern glowing on the coffee table. It was sitting as far away from Zaveid and Edna as possible as to not to irritate their sleep. It wasn’t one of the plastic cheap ones, either. It was mostly metal with a plastic base and wires crisscrossing across the light in the center of it, a thin wire handle hovering above the rest.

 

Sorey sat down in a chair, but Mikleo kept walking. Weaving out of the living room and going to the hallway on the left side of the kitchen, to where Eizen’s room was located.

 

He came out a couple minutes later with a brown, soft and velvety fake fur blanket and a fluffy white blanket. He threw the white one at Sorey, and wrapped the furry one around himself, choosing the chair at the head of the couch which was set and an angle and didn’t look directly into the hearth. Sorey curled up in his large chair, grabbing one of the millions of pillows and settling it underneath his head.

 

He knew Edna and Mikleo always said that they seemed to collect and abundance of blankets and pillows, but it was kind of ridiculous.

 

Then again, this family did seem to have a thing for snuggling and cuddling.

 

Sorey paused briefly, eyes staring into the calming, dancing flames. Family, huh? It was strange, Elysia was his home, his family was there. The entire village was his giant, huge lovable family who would go to the ends of the Earth to treat him dearly.

 

But curled up here in this living room with the power dead, his lover in the chair next to him staring off into space, a man who, presumably, had a rough life and had just moved in not so long ago laying shirtless with five blankets on top of him and an antisocial, stubborn, aggressive, stoic girl laying on his legs who had recently been ditched by her beloved brother…

 

He felt completely at home. He felt surrounded by dear family.

 

~

 

Mikleo jolted awake to aggressive buzzing on his thigh.

 

He growled, digging in the fuzzy pocket of his sweat pants. Apparently he had fallen asleep with his legs curled up and his head resting on the wing of his chair. He was completely buried in his velvety smooth blanket, and had managed to find a position where his neck didn’t feel like it was dying.

 

He made sure to check the contact before he answered. It read, _Alisha Diphda_ (even though he had to squint just to make out the letters).

He sighed, answering the call easily and crawling out of his chair as to not disturb the others while speaking, walking past a curled up Sorey and pulling his fingers through his lover’s hair once on his way by.

 

“Hello?” He croaked as soon as he reached the hallway on the right side of the kitchen, flinching at his own voice. There wasn’t much in here, but he found himself meandering to the right and opening up the dark piano room.

 

“Mikleo!” Came a relieved cry. He blinked, was something wrong? She sure sounded happy that he answered. “Are you alright?” She immediately inquired.

 

“Yeah,” he said, sitting down in the chair right beside the door. The seat was velvety and smooth, but the back was hard and wooden. “My throats just a bit sore. The power is also out here.”

 

Alisha clucked her tongue. “It’s out here too,” she sighed. “Sorry I called you so many times, by the way.” Alisha said guiltily, her tone dropping to a quieter one.

 

Mikleo only blinked blankly. “You called me?”

 

Alisha laughed, “Were you sleeping or something? Wow!” She giggled some more, and Mikleo’s lips quirked. It was nice to hear her be so jubilant again. He shut his eyes, leaning back against the chair.

 

“Did you need something?” He said quietly.

 

“Not an emergency or anything,” she said softly. “I just wanted someone to babble at about Sergei, I think it might help me figure things out.”

 

Mikleo agreed, and Alisha immediately started talking. She talked about how she wasn’t really sure, but she wanted to at least give him a chance. He was a sweet guy, wouldn’t hurt her, she liked him and liked the idea of dating with him. He was cute and handsome. But she didn’t know how to go about it, didn’t know what she would do if things went south. Didn’t want to make the same mistakes she made in the past. She wanted to fight for him.

 

When she finished there was silence for a while. They both thought. When Alisha didn’t say anything, Mikleo decided she wanted him to add on.

 

“When things go south, communication is key.” He said simply, clearing his throat before he spoke. His throat felt at least a bit better thanks to the cough drop, but it still hurt to talk. He presumed wailing for Lord knows how long had its side effects. Not to mention the bone chilling cold not helping his condition. He shivered in the very remembrance of the lack of his blanket, his already goosebump covered arms becoming further chilled. “Talk it out. Don’t be afraid. Stay calm, if it turns into a yelling match or a full on fight let things cool off and confront the problem again.” Mikleo stated calmly.

 

Alisha sighed, “You make that sound so easy…”

 

Mikleo giggled, “Well, it is.”

 

“Yeah, but…” Alisha struggled. “H-How do you know? When to leave them alone, when they’re upset, how… It’s so complicated.” She groaned.

 

“You learn,” Mikleo continued softly. “You spend a lot of time with them and learn what they want and need. Learn their expressions and moods. Learn where there limits are, how quick they are to forgive.” Mikleo paused thoughtfully. “And… You learn to trust them.”

 

Alisha laughed forcefully. “Yeah, but Sorey is your boyfriend.” Mikleo flinched, he knew that was coming. “He’s the most trustworthy person ever!”

 

“But my sister is Edna,” Mikleo teased back. Alisha giggled for real this time, and Mikleo released a breath.

 

_No, it’s not that easy._

_The more you love them, the scarier it is to let yourself trust them._

Mikleo sighed, “Just give it time Alisha, trust me.” He jogged his knee. “We’re just in high school, have some fun with it. If it doesn’t work out it’s not the end of the world. And it doesn’t have to be serious either.”

 

Alisha hummed in agreement. “Yeah, we are just in high school, you’re right. It is the time for experimentation.”

 

Mikleo shut his eyes, sinking in to the chair. “One more thing.” He said softly, his voice slowly fading.

 

“Yeah?” Alisha said brightly.

 

“You can’t compare Sergei to Sorey. And you can’t base the way your relationship with him on your past with Sorey.”

 

Silence.

 

Alisha laughed nervously, “Oh, no, no no!” She said. He imagined her waving her hand. “I am just correcting the way I acted in the past. I’m not comparing Sergei to Sorey _personally.”_

Mikleo gulped. Took a breath.

 

_She has to learn on her own._

“Okay,” he said through grit teeth, taking every ounce of his being not to give a full on lecture. Even if it would cost his voice.

 

Silence settled, Alisha commenting on a few things about Sergei here and there, Mikleo giggling or agreeing.

 

Finally when silence settled for the last time, Mikleo spoke. “Alisha you’re never alone,” he said softly.

 

“But the rest is something you need to figure out by yourself. Good luck.”

 

He hung up before she could protest.

 

He shoved his phone in his pocket, finding himself wandering over to the piano. He opened up the beautiful, deep chocolatey brown lid, beginning to trail his fingers over the old, gorgeous black and white keys. It had gotten tuned over Christmas, he hoped it was still in key.

 

Only one way to find out.

 

~

 

Sorey awoke to the sound of a beautiful song.

 

It was a sad song. Melancholy and powerful. Some parts soft and gentle, other parts empty and numb, and others loud and distressed. As it played it got faster and faster, more and more emotional and smoother. He sat all the way up, head spinning from laying in one position for so long. He looked over to Zaveid and Edna, who were both awake and listening quietly, and then over to the empty chair.

 

Eventually the song faded and stopped. By the end of it Sorey found his heart aching, and his chest empty and yet so full. The gentle steps of feet entered the room not long after.

 

They entered the kitchen, and then yelped. There was a sound that sounded like a mild explosion and then loud cursing.

 

“The demon stove strikes back.” Edna deadpanned. “Mission turn the dial in that weird special way: failed.”

 

They soon all ended up sitting quietly in the living room. Edna had stolen four out of the five blankets off of Zaveid, so the poor shirtless man was left sitting up and shivering with only one. No one offered him another though, because the bottom one was the warmest one and it was his fault for not putting on a shirt in cold weather while the power was out.

 

Mikleo was sipping on a cup of black tea, with no sugar or honey or any of the like in it. It still boggled Sorey’s mind that he liked sweets but refused to put any in his tea.

 

“What was that song?” Zaveid finally said out of the blue, breaking the comfortable silence. Mikleo hummed quietly.

 

“Luna Mea.”

 

“Never heard of it.” Zaveid deadpanned, huddling his blanket closer and pulling his knees to his chest, allowing himself to topple over to the side so he was lying in a little ball.

 

“That’s because my mom wrote it,” Mikleo deadpanned back. Taking a sip of his warm tea. The fire was fading, but none of them seemed to have the energy to get up and fix it, and Mikleo sure wasn’t going to do it.

 

Zaveid hummed. “What…” He said softly, and then looked at Mikleo with actual childlike wonder, “Was your mother like?”

 

Mikleo flinched, caught off guard by the extremely personal question. He wrapped his blanket tighter around himself for a moment, thinking. Sorey was sure he was going to dodge the question, weave his way out of answering like he was so talented at doing.

 

“When you first met her she came off as happy go lucky, not a care in the world.” He began slowly instead, eyes unfocused on the old wall ahead of him, still refusing to look at the fading fire. “She was extremely in your face, bold. Touchy feely, all smiles and laughs and giggles.”

 

He took a deep breath. “But once you got to know her you realized she was brilliant.” He said, his voice full of deep admiration and wonder. “Not book smart, just a thinker. You would just be sitting quietly in the living room, reading a book, and then suddenly she would ask you a question about the meaning of life.” A smile was growing on his face. “She couldn’t read anything without jotting down meanings to things all over the page, highlighting, dragging you over and asking you questions about your thoughts on something.” His smile grew from exited to fond, gentle and caring. “She was whimsical and wise, always knew the answers to your problems and could always settle sticky situations with no conflict. She loved everyone, even those who were in the wrong. And accepted you for whoever and whatever you were.”

 

He pursed his lips, suddenly looking extremely distressed. As if he had just snapped out of a fantasy.

 

“And she’s not here anymore,” he whispered quietly, so quietly even Sorey could barely hear it. He knew it was intended for no one but Mikleo himself.

 

“She loved you more than the entire universe,” Edna said, her tone surprisingly gentle. Sorey and Zaveid both turned to her in surprise, having ever rarely heard her use a voice so careful. She then snorted, “Which is pretty impressive, since she seemed to love the universe far too much.”

 

Mikleo hummed softly, and then paused.

 

“Melpomene and Clio,” he said softly.

 

Sorey’s eyes widened and he gasped, “The muse of tragedy and the muse of history…”

 

There was an odd silence. Not exactly uncomfortable, not exactly relaxing either. It just was, and there was nothing they could do about the lack of noise.

 

“It’s cold.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THnk you for all the support as of late I'm still crying it means so much you're all sO niceeee<333  
> (I stg half of my notes make me look drunk)


	28. People are Poison

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chaos

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Probably lots of typos

It was really, really strange to see Mikleo so still. Mikleo wasn’t fidgety and nervous in the way Sorey was. He could sit down for long periods of time (so long as the house wasn’t messy) get things done, read, drink tea.

 

But he was always doing _something._ Sorey had seen Mikleo space out before and wander off into another universe, but it had been quite a while since it had happened to this degree. He used to do it when he was lonely (even if he was surrounded by people), way back in the days when he used to only watch the rain on the window sill. Just when Sorey was about to say something, Mikleo stood.

 

“I’m going to go take a bath, I have a headache.” He croaked, adjusting his messed up ponytail.

 

Edna grunted. “Don’t use up all the hot water, the powers out.” She reminded sternly.

 

“No promises,” he grumbled. The water tank would stay hot for a little while longer, anyway. He cut around the turn, suspiciously eyeing the fire before hurrying out of the room and up into his own. Zaveid eyed him back curiously, Sorey and Edna looked at him a bit guiltily.

 

“What’s got him in a rush?” Zaveid pondered aloud. Edna glared at him, and Sorey pursed his lips, staring ahead with a concerned green gaze. Zaveid picked up on this, realizing that they knew the answer and that, apparently, it was a touchy topic. He pulled a face as he attempted to decide whether to press, or leave it be, when Sorey spoke.

 

“Mikleo isn’t exactly fond of fire.”

 

Zaveid blinked, his already messy hair falling over his eyes as he leaned forward and squinted, attempting to discern the situation. “Oh?” He drew out carefully.

 

Edna scoffed impolitely, “Biggest understatement of the century.”

 

Now Zaveid appeared to be really confused. “Wait, why?”

 

Edna began to growl lowly in warning for him to stop pressing out of lack of thought, and then stopped, and sighed. “For someone who wears loose clothes and girl things so often he sure is good at hiding that thing.”

 

Sorey suddenly looked sad and uncomfortable, eyeing the stairs Mikleo had disappeared up. “W-Wait, what thing?” Zaveid continued in oblivious bewilderment. “I’m totally lost!” He groaned, rubbing his forehead. Wasn’t Sorey supposed to be straight forward? Edna was always roundabout, but he thought at least Sorey could explain something simply!

                                                                                                      

But it turned out Sorey just wasn’t planning on explaining at all. He stood, and exited the room wordlessly, wandering upstairs.

 

Zaveid stared at Edna, but she offered him no more answers.

 

~

 

Sorey tapped the bathroom door twice. “I’m coming in, Mikleo.” He said softly, welcoming himself in and sliding through the cracked door.

 

There was the sloshing of water and suddenly Mikleo was laying over the edge of the tub, his head rested sideways on his arms and his hair tied up in a little bun in order for it not to get wet. “Can’t get away from you for one second, can I?” He grumbled, but he was smiling fondly.

 

Sorey smiled back, wandering over and crouching down to Mikleo’s level, so close that he could clearly see the dip in Mikleo’s nose and the light bags under his eyes. “Sorry, I was worried,” he responded quietly, slowly taking in all the bubbles all over Mikleo’s pale arms and neck, causing him to accidently start giggling. Mikleo glared at him, sliding off of the edge and back into the tub.

 

At this Sorey stood, pulling up the legs of his pants and sitting on the ledge where Mikleo had been previously. This earned him a very bewildered look from his lover, but he ignored it. Instead letting the lower half of his legs soak in the, smooth, soapy water. He wondered if the bubble bath had moisturizer in it.

 

“You’re weird.” Mikleo said, as if that hadn’t already been confirmed thousands of times before. Sorey just giggled and kicked up water onto Mikleo’s arm and shoulder, making the small boy glare.

 

Mikleo huffed and moved, adjusting his legs so that they were bent out to the side, and resting his head in Sorey’s lap, leaning it on his thigh. Mikleo shut his eyes and then adjusted himself once more, just allowing the water to soak into his skin for a couple of blessed minutes.

 

During this time, Sorey allowed his eyes to trail down Mikleo, finally landing on Mikleo’s pink and white spotted scar. It was a bit lumpy, but not so much now that it was healed. For the most part it was all pink and leathery, with little white speckles of unharmed skin in it. He swiped soap away from it, causing Mikleo to flinch. At first he thought he would move away, but he didn’t. Instead allowing Sorey to pull his fingers down it, memorizing every inch of the rough, imperfect skin.

 

“You know,” Mikleo suddenly spoke out of the blue, his eyes fluttering open. “Most couple’s probably couldn’t do this so casually,” he gestured to nowhere in particular with his hand. “Any of this.”

 

Sorey hummed, looking down at Mikleo as he moved away, instead sliding back and instead settling to lay against the back of the tub. Sorey only shrugged, “Guess I never really thought about it.”

 

Mikleo sighed exasperatedly, but he didn’t mean it. He tilted his head back over to Sorey. “You do make it all seem natural.”

 

“That’s because it is,” Sorey responded simply. “And so do you.”

 

Mikleo pulled his relaxed gaze away from Sorey, pulling one knee up out of the water and wrapping his arms around it in one, graceful movement (which Sorey was completely mesmerized by) and then shut his eyes. “I supposed you’re right.”

 

They sat in silence for a while before Mikleo moved again, putting his leg back down and circling around so that he was facing Sorey, settling himself on top of his own legs with his toes bent forward in order to gain height.

 

“Come here,” he said, almost curiously, tilting his head. Sorey leaned forward, dropping his arms down in between his legs.

 

Mikleo scooted closer, placing his hands on Sorey’s knees and, bringing himself so close, their noses touched. Sorey flinched in turn, his heart hiccupping in his chest and his breath hitching. Mikleo was staring at him analytically, as if trying to figure out how to do something. Sorey found himself stuck in Mikleo’s deep amethyst eyes, unable to tear away from them. So mesmerized by them he could only watch as Mikleo’s gaze turned into something fond, his pupils dilating and his eyelids resting lazily. Sorey’s heart started involuntarily pounding, hiccupping in his chest and pulsing in his ears, as if the rest of his body registered what was happening faster than his brain.

 

In fact, he was so keyed up that he nearly missed Mikleo’s lips suddenly pressing against his own.

 

Sorey accidently squeaked, and apparently Mikleo heard it because he laughed against Sorey and then pulled himself closer yet. Sorey found himself instinctually shutting his eyes, and allowing the world to be nothing but Mikleo. It was the oddest feeling he’d ever experienced, but it was wonderful. Because he was aware of every movement Mikleo made as he looped his arms around Sorey’s neck, and slowly, sweetly, began to move his lips against Sorey’s

 

Mikleo’s lips were cool. Not cold and unpleasant, but not hot and annoying either. They were soft, and they were hesitant. Sorey pressed back and put his hands on Mikleo’s ribcage to pull the other further towards him, feeling Mikleo’s incredibly sensitive skin shiver under his cold, probably clammy, hands.

 

But he leaned in harder anyway. The kiss was gentle and tender, Sorey knew Mikleo well enough to know every move he was making had a thought process, and none of it was instinctual or daring. None of it had some kind of secondary intention, either.

 

He was just kissing Sorey because he wanted him to know how much he loved him.

 

Mikleo, even though he instigated it, was the one to pull away. As his lips moved away Sorey found himself naturally trying to find them again, but stopped as Mikleo only pulled away a second time, instead just settling his nose on Sorey’s as green eyes flickered back open. Never moving his arms away from Sorey’s neck.

 

“The waters getting cold.” Mikleo explained gently. Sorey pouted and whined, and Mikleo giggled, pulling away completely so that Sorey could see his pretty pink cheeks.

 

Sorey sighed, “Okay.” He said softly, watching as Mikleo pulled up the drain. Sorey swung his legs back over to the other side, walking out of the room to leave Mikleo to dress.

 

Mikleo came out some time later, hair pulled back into a slightly neater bun and in the same warm sweatpants, but with a different shirt and one of Sorey’s hoodies overtop. Apparently, still cold.

 

Sorey quirked a brow, “How many hoodies of mine do you have?”

 

Mikleo actually paused and thought for a minute, “Five? I think.” Sorey then made a noise of mild distress, Mikleo only flashed him a smirk in return. “And two pairs of your sweatpants.”

 

“Give them back,” Sorey whined drawing out the words and pouting as Mikleo continued his walking to approach where Sorey was sitting on the bed. Sorey’s eyes trailed him, never leaving his figure.

 

“No.”

 

“Why?” Sorey pouted, and Mikleo leaned in close to his face, causing Sorey to blink on reflex.

 

“Be-cause.” He said simply, puffing up his cheeks and huffing like a small child. Sorey laughed, and Mikleo narrowed his eyes in that glare that never really meant a thing. Suddenly Sorey stopped, and Mikleo flinched as Sorey’s cold hands pressed against his cheek.

 

“It’s getting more noticeable,” Sorey said, brows furrowed in concern.

 

“That’s kind of what bruises do, Sorey,” Mikleo bounced back playfully. But yet, Sorey was able to pick out the clear anxiety in Mikleo’s eyes at his words. Sorey bit down on his lip, dusting his thumb over Mikleo’s cheek once more, only stopping as the boy flinched and made a tiny noise.

 

Sorey put his hand down, but continued to stare at it. It really was noticeable now, turning darker so you could clearly tell it was in the imprint of a large hand. It wasn’t black and blue yet, but he could tell it would be eventually. Sorey knew the way a bruise looked didn’t always tell you how hard someone got hit, after all hitting someone just right can break the blood cells too. But he still had awful feeling that Mikleo got hit pretty hard. The irritated red color was turning all too prominent all too fast.

 

“Are you alright?” Sorey asked softly, catching Mikleo’s downward but distant gaze. Mikleo shook his head, not in a no, as if he was clearing his head of silly thoughts.

 

He sat down beside Sorey gently, pressing his hand into the down cover. “I-“ he began, and then bit his lip, trying to decide where everything began, and ended. How to put what was happening into words.

 

“I-I’m sorry,” he mumbled, burying his head into his hands and rubbing it against his palms. Sorey moved to protest, but Mikleo carried on. “I guess it all just finally hit me,” he whispered softly, looking out of his hands and to Sorey with a sad, sad gaze.

 

“You know,” he continued, his voice croaking. Whether it was from being on the verge of tears, his throat still hurting or both Sorey could not tell. “After mom died I never really had time to mourn. I was bustled around and dragged everywhere as people tried to find a place for me. I never had time to cry, or let it all sink in. The world was just spinning too fast for me to process.”

 

He took a deep breath. “And then… When I moved in with Michael I didn’t dare show weakness in front of him and cry, and he kept me too busy most of the time to think about things anyway. At that point…” he trailed off. “Nothing even hurt anymore. Everything was raw and numb, like my scar,” he whispered. “I didn’t even know what was wrong, there were too many things that _could_ be wrong. I couldn’t even cry I…” His voice caught and cracked this time, and Sorey scooted closer to rub Mikleo’s back as his lover began to sniffle, a sympathetic but not pitying gaze in his eyes.

 

Mikleo balled his hands into fists, pressing them against his eyes as tears began to spill once again. “And then I moved here, and I didn’t want to seem ungrateful and cry or whine. So I just holed it all up. Sometimes I threatened on the verge of mental breakdowns, some days I dare say I had to cling on for dear life just to stay sane.” Mikleo moved his hands away from his eyes, wrapping his arms around himself instead. Sorey frowned, he hated it when Mikleo did that.

 

Sorey pried Mikleo’s arms away from his own body, taking the opening to replace it with his, squeezing him and pulling him close. Stroking his hand down Mikleo’s arm and burying his head in the crook of his neck.

 

“A-And then,” Mikleo whimpered, holding onto Sorey’s arm instead. He was looking into the distance with a hollow, scarred look in his eye. “M-Michael came. And he just said all the things he usually does,” Mikleo grabbed onto the hand Sorey had on his hip. Sorey suddenly flinched, surprised by the sheer amount of force as Mikleo crushed Sorey’s hand in his own. “But… He always blames me. For what happened to mom. For ruining her life because of my gender, for not being able to do anything about the fire, for not being a normal kid.”

 

Suddenly Mikleo pushed Sorey off. Sorey flinched, and then stared up into Mikleo’s terrified eyes, broken gaze, whatever you would like to call it, and froze. “Sorey,” Mikleo choked, tears spilling down his face. He placed two shaky pale hands on Sorey’s face, not gripping it harshly, but not holding it delicately like he usually did.

 

“Yes, Mikleo,” Sorey said softly with the endless patience that Mikleo usually held in his own voice.

 

“Sorey,” Mikleo continued, pressing their foreheads together and closing his eyes. “Sorey, Sorey, Sorey, Sorey,” he gasped. Sorey, only sat perfectly still. Waiting for what Mikleo really wanted to say.

 

Mikleo pulled away, well, hardly pulled away. Just enough so that Sorey could see his face. His lip was trembling and his eyes were full of pain that had always been there, but somehow, Sorey still didn’t know how, Mikleo had kept well masked and locked away. “Sorey I’m broken.”

 

~

Zaveid and Edna sat in silence.

 

It was a while before either of them broke the ice. This time, it just happened to be Edna.

 

“Wasn’t part of the deal of you coming here that you would get a real job?” She grunted, burrowing herself in the millions of blankets. Zaveid glared at her with childish envy.

 

“Hey, little lady,” he drawled. It didn’t have the same effect as it usually did though, since he was shivering and cuddled in a fuzzy warm blanket. “Why are you in a rush all of a sudden?”

 

She glared at him, “Because every second you waste finding a damn job the more Mikleo has to work.”

 

“Ah, so this is about Mikleo,” Zaveid said, his face softening a bit as he looked back at Edna.

 

“Who else could it be about?” Edna deadpanned. Zaveid thought a moment, and then shrugged. Edna could hear the words _“you have a point”_ in her head as he did so. She sighed, and then stared forward for a moment, “What was your ‘job’ before?” She asked slowly, begrudgingly. As if holding a conversation with the man for more than five seconds was physically painful.

 

“More like ‘jobs’” Zaveid replied back, furrowing his brow. “I just ran around doing what anyone asked of me. Kinda a local handyman, I guess.”

 

“Or an errand boy.” Edna taunted.

 

“Yeah, but that sounds way less cool!” Zaveid yelled, a boisterous smile forming on his face. Edna rolled her eyes, and mumbled something like _“drama queen”_ under her breath. Zaveid pretended he hadn’t heard, and scratched the back of his neck, shaking his head. “Honestly,” he sighed. “I was totally overworked, my mental and physical health seemed to be plummeting into a ravenous big black abyss. Or something.”

 

Edna cocked a brow, and then looked forward again, frowning. “You dropped out of high school the second you turned sixteen, am I correct?”

 

“Yep, didn’t have a choice.” Zaveid shrugged.

 

“You don’t have any parents?”

 

“Last time I checked they were alive, but that was a hella long time ago, so no idea. But not any that do anything, anyway.”

 

“And yet you managed to provide for yourself to go to school, pay for a place to live, and function like a weirdo, but fairly tolerant person?” Zaveid, flinched at Edna’s word choices, but then his expression grew sad, and he looked forward.

 

“Your brother always helped me,” he said softly.

 

“Eizen…” Edna said, her eyes growing as big as saucers on her small face and her voice filling with wonder. Then she frowned, “That’s right, how do you know my brother?”

 

“Happenstance and a series of, fortunate or unfortunate, depending on how you view it, events.” Zaveid replied vaguely. Edna glared at him, but it was halfhearted now. Empathetic and sad. Zaveid didn’t miss it.

 

He looked back at her, giving Edna a sad smile. “I loved him too, Edna.” Edna flinched, her face covering with shock. “I’m sorry he left you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lailah voice: *gasps* "Oh my!"


	29. Time Tics, the Earth Spins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING *rolls into the abyss*
> 
> If this seems rushed or has typos it's because I realized how long it had been since I had updated and kind of highkey panicked *cough*
> 
> I know it's not that long for a lot of people but whenever I don't update for more than a week I feel like I'm being forgotten o-o Also I don't think I've ever gone longer than two weeks without updating this? But, here you go.

Mikleo and Sorey hadn’t moved from the bed. Mikleo’s white hair was slowly coming undone from his bun, and his face looked relaxed and content in his sleep. His head was laying in Sorey’s lap, his hands curled up to his chest and his knees bent. Even after all of Sorey’s wiping there were still some tear stains around the edges of his eyes and his face was a bit red.

 

Sorey dialed the same number for the third time. He let the phone ring, and ring, never giving up hope that someone would answer and therefor never pressing the end button. Until, it skipped to voicemail. Sorey immediately hung up and growled lowly.

 

“Why won’t he answer?” Sorey grumbled. He moved his finger on the screen to look at his recent calls, the last three being _“Gramps”_ and none of them returned. His hands twitched in irritation, and he moved one to gently rub down Mikleo’s arm, only feeling the soft warmth of what was once his own hoodie as he did so.

 

_He said he would always be there when I needed him._

Sorey knew Zenrus wasn’t busy. It was 8:00PM, late enough where he wouldn’t have anyone over, or be working, but early enough so that he wasn’t in bed. Zenrus never, ever went to be before nine. Sorey almost started jogging his knee, but stopped at the feeling of Mikleo shifting in his sleep on his lap, and instead decided to absentmindedly bonk the back of his heal against the bedframe.

 

Something Sorey had learned is that Zenrus didn’t understand what _need_ meant. To Zenrus need meant someone was dying, or there was some sort of traumatic experience. What he didn’t understand was, in the end, Sorey was a lost teenager who needed the steady guidance of a parental figure. Some sort of steady force who had already been there, done that.

 

He knew he was lucky he had Mikleo, gods, he knew he was lucky. He had so many other friends too thanks to Alisha, people he could lean on, people who could help him.

 

But at this point he and Mikleo were just clinging to each other’s broken pieces.

 

“I’m making you stressed.”

 

Sorey jolted, looking down to see that Mikleo had awoken, now facing up towards Sorey with glazed, deep lavender eyes. Sorey blinked, lost in them briefly before actively shaking his head, lulling himself out of the trance.

 

“It’s alright,” he said softly, beaming down at Mikleo. His eyes didn’t light up as much as they usually did, though. Something Mikleo would never dare miss as he assessed Sorey’s expression. “I’m fine!” He continued cheerfully.

 

Mikleo huffed, “Sure thing whatever you say.” He sat up, pulling himself off of Sorey’s lap and flicking him on the nose. Sorey reacted with a jolt and a blink, brightened green eyes crossing to look at the retracting finger.

 

Mikleo stood on top of the bed, walking across it with a slight bounce and settling himself gracefully outside of the window, peering out of it. The rain had washed the snow away, and it was only drizzling pleasantly now. The night was settling in, but it wasn’t pitch black quite yet. Mikleo could still see the water glistening on the roads. It was going to get cold tonight, it would most likely freeze and be dangerous tomorrow morning.

 

Sorey peered over his shoulder, also taking in the sight. “I bet school will be back open by Monday,” he said with genuine cheerfulness. Mikleo nodded.

 

“I’ll probably stay home,” he said simply. Sorey looked at him in shock. Slightly pleased, and a bit relieved, but still surprised. “I think I need some quiet.”

 

Sorey simply nodded, knowing better than to comment or do otherwise.

 

“Hey, Sorey…” Mikleo said softly. Sorey settled so that he was beside him, looking at him and waiting for him to finish.

 

“Let me know,” Sorey looked at Mikleo’s white, pursed lips. “If I,” His eyes jumped to Mikleo’s slowly intertwining hands, long pale fingers suffocating one another. “Ever begin to become a burden.” He looked at Mikleo’s solemn expression.

 

“I don’t want to be a lability to you.”

 

Sorey settled a hand on Mikleo’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze and choosing to ignore the way his skin shivered underneath of it. “You could never be a burden to me.” He said simply, because it was true. After all, Sorey couldn’t lie.

 

Mikleo said nothing, only nodded. Expression and position unchanging, hands maybe slightly relaxing. Or at the very least not getting tighter.

 

The door creaked open and the both turned around. In waltzed a hefty and yet agile man who looked incredibly dismantled. Well, he always looked dismantled. But slightly more dismantled than usual.

 

“Everything alright in here?” Zaveid frowned, Mikleo turned his head, and then turned all the way around nodding. Zaveid walked over, leaning over the edge of the bed with his hands in his pockets. Still a fair distance from Mikleo considering the boy was practically backed against the wall, but close enough to study his expression.

 

He finally straightened himself out, a goofy expression taking over his entire face. “Well, you’re still alive so I guess everything can’t be but so bad.” He then winked, for no particular reason.

 

“Thanks for your excellent optimism, Zaveid.” Mikleo deadpanned, giving Zaveid a slightly bored glare. This only made the man smile bigger, though.

 

“No problem, kiddo!” He barked. Mikleo rolled his eyes, and yet his expression was slightly fond. This always surprised Sorey. He still had no sense of pattern in the people Mikleo seemed to take a liking to, but he had quickly figured out that Zaveid was one of them.

 

Zaveid peered out the window, and then groaned. “We’re going to have to go back to school Monday,” he whined, pouting. Mikleo sighed.

 

“I’m going to stay home,” he mumbled. Zaveid turned to him, a look of brief, mild surprise crossing his face. “I need to clean the house. You’re all a mess. I cease to function for one day…” He grumbled, shifting uncomfortably.

 

“You know,” Zaveid said, tilting his head. His expression was totally blank, and Mikleo almost felt himself cringe away from the unreadable gaze. “Eizen always told me you were a mom,” a lopsided grin took over, and Mikleo’s face slowly began to become hot instead. “But I never really believed him. Now I know I should’ve.”

 

“H-Hey!” Mikleo squeaked, Sorey giggled.

 

“You are!” Sorey retaliated, poking him in the ribs. Mikleo, suddenly feeling ganged up on, straightened his back and glared back in forth between the two of them. As always though, it held not even an ounce of real anger. This time not even an ounce of real annoyance.

 

“So immature,” Mikleo huffed. Puffing up his cheeks and turning away.

 

“Says you!” Zaveid and Sorey both said at the same time. Mikleo cringed.

 

The rest of the week passed by fairly swiftly. Nothing entirely eventful happened. Both of the boys had some moments, but for the most part they were in control. Edna nearly destroyed the kitchen trying to (aggressively) cook, and Zaveid laughed at everyone and got hit countless times.

 

Mikleo did as he said and skipped school on Monday.

 

Which, left the group feeling odd and off balance. It was of course, nice to see everyone after what felt like centuries, but the lack of Mikleo’s presence was clear. Not to mention the boy stuck out, so several people walked up to each of the members asking where the pretty albino was today. Zaveid, Edna and Sorey had simply told everyone he was sick. Because really, it wasn’t too far off from the truth. It was a lie even Sorey didn’t have too much trouble telling.

 

Alisha had been one of the first people to ask.

 

“Where’s Mikleo?” She said, peering around Sorey and looking for the boy who usually seemed to constantly be by his side.

 

“H-He’s sick, he’s at home,” Sorey spluttered, face turning hot with the unpracticed lie as Alisha gave him a level stare.

 

Her expression then appeared thoughtful, she cocked her hip and tapped her lip with one finger. “Now that you mention it, his voice was terribly sore when I called him on Thursday…”

 

Sorey almost just melted to a puddle in relief, but kept himself from doing so as Rose was eyeing him rather carefully.

 

Zaveid’s phone buzzed, and everyone turned to him. Zaveid was constantly texted people, or perhaps just a person, and yet anyone hardly ever heard his phone buzz back. Seeming to catch everyone’s eyes on him he pulled his phone out, and a brow cocked with a bit of surprise.

 

Everyone then seemed to peak over his shoulder at that to see what was happening. Zaveid was that one friend who let everyone do so (since he had no sense of privacy or personal space himself).

 

_Mom ~_

I thought you said you would help me clean the house?

 

I did why?

_Read 8:34_

_Mom ~_

Your room. Is. A mess.

 

Thats not how you use periods Mom.

_Read 8:36_

_Mom ~_

Don’t call me that.

 

Too late its already ur contact name :)))

_Read 8:36_

_Mom ~_

…

I hate you. Clean you’re room when you

come home because I am not.

 

 

Lailah blinked at the conversation. “Is that…?”

 

“Mikleo,” Zaveid beamed proudly, shutting off his phone and tucking it in his pocket. Sorey sighed, Edna grunted.

 

“You do realize he’s going to clean it anyway, right?” Edna deadpanned, giving Zaveid a level glare.

 

“Yep!”

 

She sighed. “You’re an asshole,” Edna said, opening up her umbrella smoothly and scaring the life out of several freshmen walking past them. Everyone rolled their eyes at the terrified youngsters, the rest of the world used to the odd group’s odd shenanigans by now.

 

Alisha tilted her head, “He’s sick, shouldn’t he be resting?” The trio looked at her, Zaveid then sighed and clucked dramatically, shaking his head.

 

“Asking our little Meebo to do nothing is like… Asking Sorey to lie. Or something.”

 

Sorey cringed, and Rose snickered loudly at the comment. No one denied it though.

 

Lailah clapped. “We should probably stop loitering around the gate, we’re blocking people’s way, and we’re going to make ourselves late for class!” Everyone’s eyes widened at the statement, and looking at the time sent them all scrambling for their first period, Lailah walking calmly to her own and Edna practically dragging herself there.

 

~

 

Mikleo couldn’t stop staring at himself in the mirror.

 

Not in a vain way, he couldn’t stop staring at the purple bruise on his cheek. It was so foreign, so strange. Of course he had had bruises as a child, he did bruise quite easily. But his face had never had any rememberable marks, and he had certainly never had a bruise in the shape of a hand.

 

He poked it. It didn’t really hurt anymore, but the dark purple that was slowly turning green made it look like it would. He would have to watch a bunch of makeup videos to learn how to cover it up. He frowned at the thought, glaring at his little makeup bag and skirting out of the bathroom.

 

He then moved to open his closet. It was hot today, the high 70 degrees. Well, not _hot_ , but compared to the recent below freezing temperatures it was.

 

He subconsciously began rubbing his scar as he poked through his clothes, thinking about what could cover it up and what couldn’t. He bit his lip, he really hated trying to find something to wear when it was warm. Not to mention his skin burned if he even looked at the sun for too long, and he was susceptible to lots of skin problems because of his albinism. He hated the heat. He hated winter too.

 

Mikleo wondered if it was still socially acceptable to use parasols. He used to use one, in fact he still had his old one. And in any case Edna seemed to be able to carry around her umbrella without anyone telling her that that wasn’t something you were supposed to do. So he was probably safe.

 

But, that was for another day. He pulled out a light weight shirt and, finally, after some digging found a pair of shorts that fit and were fairly gender-neutral looking (he really needed to redo his closet), readjusting his glasses as they slid down his nose.

 

He waltzed back into the bathroom. Well, at least it was a nice day for a walk.

 

~

 

“Do you all want to hang out tomorrow?” Alisha beamed the second she sat down. No one looked up, having been fully expecting the question. Only, with the exception of Sergei, who looked up and beamed at her.

 

“Sure, when?”

 

“After school, like always,” Alisha said, blinking at him and then turning back to everyone else. “Who’s house?” She tilted her head curiously, looking around the room in hopes someone would offer for a change of pace.

 

“Why not ours?” Zaveid piped up, looking at Edna for conformation. She shrugged.

 

“As long as you don’t make a mess so I don’t have to listen to Mikleo complain, I don’t care.”

 

Alisha beamed, and then her smile faltered. She ended up sucking on her lower lip, thoughtful and concerned. “Hopefully Mikleo’s well by then…”

 

“He better be,” Zaveid clucked, and shook his head. “He was feeling mostly better today anyway. I think he just wanted us out of the house, we nearly drove him up a wall when everything was snowed in.” He chuckled loudly as the half lies continued to roll of his tongue with ease.

 

“He’ll be fine,” Sorey added, staring into Alisha’ mint green eyes. They were shades lighter than his own with much less depth and color, an entirely different vibe altogether. “Even if he wasn’t he’d pretend just to see you. He’s misses you all, even if he refused to admit it.”

 

“Aweee,” Lailah said, batting her pretty pale eyelashes dramatically (even for her) like she was about to cry and sniffling slightly. “That’s so sweet!”

 

Rose cocked a brow at her, slightly punching Lailah on the shoulder. “I think you’re giving him way too much credit, Lailah.” The other woman only huffed, pouting at Rose rather is a similarly dramatic sense.

 

~

 

The next few weeks were finally beginning to seem like spring.

 

Everything seemed calmer, the air smelled sweeter. Mikleo was doing better, and was basically starting from the bottom up. Confidence slowly rising, making its way back up to the point Sorey was sure it would go far beyond where it had been before Michael came for a visit. People were beginning to notice it. A couple girls complimented his hair, big eyed and sparkly. It was now reaching his shoulder, and some days feel in many little ringlets, while other it was just wavy. It was fine but appeared incredibly thick. Some of the guys commented on it too. They reacted differently than the girls, but not in a bad way.

 

Outside of school he was also getting more confident with what he wore and how he presented himself in general. Everyone noticed it, both Lailah and Zaveid commented on it happily, Alisha just beamed at him constantly.

 

That was one thing that Sorey now often noticed, he thought. He was sitting in his own house papers surrounding him, books on the floor. The teachers were really packing in homework with the end of February nearing and spring break coming closer and closer. Zenerus had finally decided to come and visit for all of spring break and bring Natalie and Mason for a week, he was going to stay for a couple months after they left.

 

Anyway, we’re going off topic here. Sorey had been noticing Alisha sometimes been looking a little distant, often sad. That was one thing about Alisha, she had always attempted to hide her emotions, but was never good at it.

 

He knew that part of the reason she had become to Elysia was because she was having troubles with her mother, Maltran. Maltran was not cruel, but the two often disagreed on topics. Both were incredibly stubborn, and it could lead on to full on fights. Maltran was also quite strict, which left her with a less than motherly vibe. This often made her upset or sad to think about, and Sorey had gotten good at catching this moments during his time with her.

 

Maybe Maltran was bothering her again? He tapped his pencil on his desk, chewing on his lip, aware that he was getting absolutely no work done at the moment.

 

Perfectly on cue the phone rang, lighting up with Alisha’s name. Sorey quickly scrambled for the phone, picking it up immediately.

 

“Is something wrong?” He blurted out immediately, voice layered with worry that would seem unnecessary to the average person. But Sorey cared about his friends dearly, no matter how big or small their problems.

 

_“U-Um… Well…”_ Alisha stuttered softly. _“Maltran and I just got in a bit of a fight… And it’s really hard for me to concentrate on homework… And I- uh- just wanted t-to get out of the house-“_

“You can come over!” He called, interrupting her stutter-fest to accept what he knew she was going to ask. “I was struggling with this anyway…” Sorey groaned. Sorey was smart, but he was an awful test taker and didn’t have enough attention span to study something he didn’t personally like for more than five minutes. He best studied in groups, which is why he didn’t mind when people randomly walked into his house and plopped down on his couch to study.

 

Alisha squeaked, _“Really?”_ She cried, utterly delighted. Sorey blinked, not quite sure why she sounded so surprised. That’s what friends were for, right? He shook his head, she was probably still just shaken from her feud with Maltran.

 

“…Yeah?” He said, and then smiled. “See you in a few minutes!” He hung up, accidently cutting off something she was going to say.

 

_Whoops,_ he thought, shrugging and putting his phone back on his desk. He got up, wanting to organize things a bit before she came.

 

~

 

Alisha was practically bouncing up and down in her car seat as she drove out to Sorey’s house. She was in a nice button down, short sleeved shirt and a pretty little pleated skirt. Her backpack was sitting in the seat beside her and her hair was pulled back in a perfect ponytail. It was amazing how excited Sorey still made her just by inviting her over. She smiled bigger, biting a pink lip as her mint green eyes sparkled. It really was beautiful out, 75 degrees if you want to be picky. It was a Saturday, and that made everything seem even more peaceful.

 

When she finally arrived a Sorey’s little house she took it all in. It was quirky, bright yellow with white trim. The porch’s paint was pealing ever so slightly, flowerbeds with flowers in front. She did a double take, flower beds with flowers?

 

She jogged over to the flower beds, her a million pound backpack hitting her back. She kneeled down, staring at the flowers that didn’t used to be there. There were beautiful hydrangea planted far apart in a row, soaking up some sunlight. They were a violet-blue, just barely growing little poofs of many smaller flowers, making Alisha almost having the urge to bury her hand in one. But, she did not want to ruin it. They were small now, but she also knew one day they would be huge. She turned to her left where pretty little bright blue forget-me-nots were nuzzled under the somewhat-shade of the porch. They were spread out, whoever had planted them clear anticipated them spreading on their own. The bright blue and little yellow and white centers brought out the rest of the house perfectly.

 

“Pretty, aren’t they?” Alisha snapped her head up, startled as she already felt a blush creeping over her cheeks the second she settled her eyes on Sorey’s stunningly bright green ones. He was beaming down at her, leaning over the porch. She stood up suddenly, loss for words for a brief second.

 

“Y-Yes!” She finally blurted out awkwardly, seeming to sway ever so slightly. Sorey cocked an eyebrow and gave her an odd look. Alisha took a deep breath in attempt to compose herself, “Yes, they’re very attractive.” She said softly, looking back towards them. “Did you do them?” She continued, “You picked very nice colors and placement… I didn’t know you knew a lot about flowers?”

 

Sorey laughed and waved his hand, “No no! Well… Kind of. I’ve been wanting to plant flowers for a long time but didn’t know how or where to start, so Mikleo helped me.”

 

“Oh I see. Makes sense, Mikleo is very good with aesthetics.”

 

Sorey laughed at her, and then looked up at down over her. Alisha felt herself growing hot again, but Sorey remained expressionless, if anything slightly confused. “You’re dressed rather nicely,” he chirped.

 

Alisha choked, and then looked down. Had it been too much?

 

Sorey just laughed again, spinning around like a small child. “It’s alright, guess Mikleo just always turns up here so casually.”

 

Alisha crinkled her nose.

 

Sorey turned away, disappearing behind the door and waving for Alisha to follow.

 

So she did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like you all hate when I time skip but I swear they're planned x-x


	30. Out of Order

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is short my apologies but I'm dying

“Soo boreed,” came a low, whiny drone.

 

“Stop whining,” Mikleo snapped. He glared at the dirty blonde with his hands on his hips and narrowed eyes. “If you’re that bored, go read a book or something.”

 

“Not everyone’s a huge nerd like you, idiot. Books can’t solve everyone’s problems.”

 

Mikleo huffed up his cheeks, his eyes practically twitching with irritation. “I hate you. So. Much.” At those words a heavy weight was thrown across his back, and Mikleo didn’t even look to see the arms dangling around his neck out of the corner of his eyes. Sadly, he was perfectly used to this by now.

 

“You know, everyone always thinks you’re so mature but really you’re like a little kid,” came Zaveid’s low bellow. Mikleo, now fuming, attempted to wriggle out of Zaveid’s grasp.

 

“I’m not a little kid!” He whined. Zaveid barely even had to adjust his hold to completely prevent Mikleo from escaping, not even flinching as the boy attempted to stomp on his feet.

 

“Sure, whatever you say Kidleo.” Edna said, holding a steady gaze at her struggling brother, offering no assistance nor particular interest in the matter.

 

Mikleo opened his mouth, irritation rising with the persistent, childish teasing before his phone began ringing in his pocket. It vibrated against his thigh, making him freeze and then stop retaliating in Zaveid’s arms. Instead standing simply without leaning in either direction. He fished his phone out of his pocket, scanning over the contact name several times.

 

“Alisha?” Zaveid asked, moving his arms from under Mikleo’s armpits to being swung annoyingly around his neck. He casually rested his chin on his head, Mikleo twitched at the simple show of their height difference.

 

He silenced the phone, putting it back in his pocket.

 

“You’re ignoring her?” Zaveid asked with genuine shock. Mikleo may be bad at responding to texts, but he always answered calls. He wasn’t one to leave his friends hanging, and he worried about people too.

 

And he always, always made sure to answer Zaveid. Even the texts.

 

“She needs to figure out her own problems and stop calling me for help,” Mikleo grumbled. Zaveid took his weight away from him carefully, unrecognizable emotions behind his mysterious amber eyes and his lips turned down in a frown.

 

“You’ve been tired the past couple of days,” Edna said, tapping her pretty umbrella on the floor. Mikleo flinched, _of course she would notice._ “Has she been bothering you?”

 

Mikleo sighed, “No, well, yes…” He grumbled, ruffling his hair irritably and immediately catching about ten knots in between his thin fingers. He frowned, beginning to comb them through his easily tangled hair. Where did that hairband on his wrist gone?

 

“No-well-yes is not an answer, Meebo.” Edna continued snippily. Mikleo glared at her, but wasn’t all that irritated at this point. He had long forgiven the concerned teasing Edna often used to wheedle answers out of him.

 

Not, that he would ever admit that.

 

He paused, and then sighed. “Just…” He then groaned dramatically, hanging his head and opting to ignore the heavy pat on his shoulder from behind him. “When did I become a damn relationship counselor?”

 

“Ever since you became the only one in the group who seems to be able to find love,” Edna deadpanned helpfully. Mikleo glared in response.

 

“It’s not like I was _looking for it_ thought, it just _happened._ How am I supposed to give advice?”

 

Edna only gave another dull sigh, resting her head in her palm and beginning to tap her short, thin fingers on her pale cheek, shaking her head. “Silly, silly Meebo. Magic, of course. You have to solve everyone’s problems with magic.”

 

Mikleo’s eye seemed to twitch. “The irritating thing about that statement is that that’s what she seems to expect.”

 

He sighed and walked lightly over to Edna, settling down with a normal distance between them. Not squishing them together, not straying far either. Zaveid walked forward a few steps, but otherwise didn’t sit down nor really change his position. “It’s just…” Mikleo said quietly, his expression becoming slightly distant.

 

“She only like Sergei because he reminds her of Sorey,” he explained cutthroat, not bothering the sugar coat the words to the two people in front of him, considering they had a rather similar way of going about problems. “They could work, but that would be years and years in the future,” he began tapping a finger on his thigh, the gears in his complicated and yet so utterly efficient head churning. “And not like, they start dating now and work it out through the years…” He shook his head, beginning to mumble to himself.

 

“Are you jealous?” Edna said. Mikleo jerked towards her to see her mildly surprised expression. He only shook his head.

 

“No,” he said sincerely. “She’s not a threat-

 

“Burnnnn,” Zaveid said in the background.

 

“-I’m more concerned about her making this overly complicated and hurting Sorey, and herself, and Sergei, as separate beings.”

 

Edna tapped her pretty umbrella.

 

“Lailah.” Edna said simply. Zaveid nodded, Mikleo sighed.

 

“The real relationship advice master,” he replied.

 

Zaveid snorted, “The everything advice master.”

 

No one denied it.

 

Mikleo suddenly stood, brushing imaginary dust off of his legs and shifting around on his feet. Not nervously, simply to keep himself occupied. “Todays a Saturday so I’m going to Sorey’s house tonight, obviously.” He explained the loose schedule that the lovers had seemed to fall into. Not that he really needed to, everyone already knew. But, that was just Mikleo. “What are you two going to do tonight? Are you going to screw around and make a mess of the kitchen attempting to cook-“ Edna made an extremely offended face and Zaveid, of course, just gave him a devious smile. “-or do you want me to make something and put something in the fridge before I leave?” He paused. “Maybe you two should just go out and eat, it’s been a while since you’ve done that.”

 

With some help, Zaveid had managed to get a job at the Ladylake Museum gift shop. It payed fairly well, they could all eat, anyways. Mikleo was much more at ease now that they had a steady income and summer was coming closer, meaning he could start working soon too.

 

Bless the fact that they didn’t have to pay for an actual house (and that there was something Eizen hadn’t left them all totally in the dust on).

 

Zaveid’s smile lit up, “We should go out Edna!”

 

To Mikleo’s surprise Edna shrugged nonchalantly, not groaning nor rolling on to the floor and complaining about how walking everywhere was hard and not good for a young dainty lady. So, he simply smiled softly at the two as they continued, floating up the stairs with a slight hum and bounce.

 

~

 

The homework had long ended and Sorey and Alisha had ended up chatting on the couch. Although, Alisha noticed Sorey couldn’t stop fidgeting. He kept pumping his leg and glancing at his watch. Grabbing something random and beginning to twiddle with it. It was beginning to both aggravate and concern her, as she just couldn’t seem to keep his attention.

 

“Sorey?” She said softly during a pause in their talking. He blinked, tilting his head.

 

“What?” He replied. His voice wasn’t surprised or nervous like she was expected, in fact he had stilled now. His eyes were still glowing, though.

 

“Um,” she looked him up and down, fluttering her eyelashes. “Are you alright?”

 

He started, and then laughed guiltily. “Yeah, Mikleo comes on Saturday evenings and makes me dinner. He stays the night too sometimes. Guess I’m just excited!” He beamed after he finished talking.

 

Alisha frowned, she didn’t know why this seemed to bother her. “I see-“

 

“Speak of the devil!” Sorey barked as thin pale figure slipped through the door. He shut it behind him and then locked it out of habit, turning back around and was immediately nearly blinded by Sorey’s bright-as-the-sun smile.

 

“Ah, Mikleo!”

 

Mikleo flinched, eyes rolling over to Alisha. She was smiling too now, her hands balled up in her skit and her eyes sparkling. He then looked her up and down, what was she dressed up for?

 

Mikleo had showed up looking about how he usually did to Sorey’s house. Presentable enough for him to considering walking on the street (even though he drove) but comfortable. He was wearing jean shorts and a shirt that had a tendency to fall off one shoulder. Not to mention he was wearing his glasses, which were getting increasing use. His hair was pulled up in a lazy bun and strands were purposefully left out in the front.

 

“Did you have an event or something earlier today?” Mikleo asked Alisha simply. He continued to walk over to Sorey.

 

“Hmm?” She hummed, tilting her head at him. She then looked down at herself and blushed. “A-Ah! No I just felt like dressing like this…”

 

“What happened to the pretty little tomboy who never cared about boys?” Mikleo teased, smirking. Sorey, to her surprise, bobbed his head in agreement innocently as Mikleo settled on the couch.

 

Alisha blushed, and her heart clenched as Mikleo turned himself sideways to look at her, leaning his head on Sorey’s collarbone. “Um, I don’t know.” She said defensively. “Guess I just grew out of it.”

 

Mikleo quirked an eyebrow in disbelief. “Mm-hmm,” he drew out, much to Alisha’s annoyance. He turned around, now sitting normally on the couch as Sorey pulled and arm around his waist, pulling him closer even as Mikleo sighed.

 

“How long have you two been dating for now?” Alisha asked cautiously, trying to keep her voice light and curious. To her surprise there was silence.

 

“Uhh...” Sorey said, glancing at Mikleo, Mikleo shrugged.

 

“Maybe four or five months? Not really sure.” He sighed.

 

“No way,” Alisha said in surprise, glancing back and forth between the two accusingly. “I thought for sure Sorey would be the type to remember and make big deals out of anniversaries?!” Sorey just laughed nervously.

 

“Well, when our relationship’s start and end is kind of fuzzy,” he explained softly. Then he thought a moment, “I guess we could call it when we decided on a label…” He thought.

 

“Don’t get any ideas,” Mikleo pinched Sorey’s side, the other boy yelped, jumping.

 

“Hey! Your pinches really hurt!” He pouted, poking his lover’s belly. Mikleo just shoved him back. “Plus,” Sorey said smiling. “I spoil you every day anyway, I don’t need a holiday for that.”

 

Mikleo grumbled, “You’re too much.”

 

Alisha watched at the two boys slowly came back from their own little world. She looked at Mikleo, who had his lips pressed taught and his eyes looked a bit upset. She had the feeling he was upset with _her_. Should she bring up the missed call, or no? What if he’s really angry? She had never been good at reading Mikleo.

 

“You look distressed,” Mikleo said, perhaps a bit coldly as he looked at her. She became flustered and he quickly changed the topic, “Are you staying for dinner?” He said softly, seemingly having reined in his emotions and keeping his face neutral again. Sorey gave him a look, surprised.

 

“N-No, I’ll leave you two alone,” Alisha replied, finally picking up on the message. She rose and waved, “Nice to see you two!” She chirped. Sorey waved back and said a similar thing, whilst Mikleo just smiled and nodded at her. She turned and left, slipping out the door without saying a word. Only pausing in the doorway for but a brief second.

 

After a few moments of silence Sorey turned to Mikleo, “Is there something going on between you two?”

 

Mikleo paused a moment, pursing his lips and then shaking his head. He stood, and gave Sorey a gentle smile. “It’s nothing,” he said softly, reassuringly. Mikleo began to wander into the kitchen, but Sorey grabbed his hand, eyebrows furrowed in concern.

 

“You look tired too, have you been sleeping?” Mikleo looked straight back into Sorey’s eyes, his expression so soft and yet so deep at the same time. He removed his hand from in-between Sorey’s grasped, placing his hands around Sorey’s own instead.

 

“Everything’s fine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If ya'll ever need me I'll be drowning in a pile of homework *drifts back into the abyss*


	31. Take a Moment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A NORMALLY LENGHTHED CHAPTER YOU'RE WELCOME

Mikleo wasn’t one for attention, and Sorey was completely aware of this, but that didn’t keep him from being disturbed when after dinner the boy wanted nothing but to go to bed. Didn’t want to sit on the couch and watch a movie, or lazily read a book, didn’t want attention or to lay in Sorey’s lap, just wanted to go to sleep.

 

Obviously, Sorey obliged, and the second Mikleo’s head hit the pillow he passed out. Which was again, quite unusual.

 

Sorey pursed his lips. Sorey wasn’t good at reading people in general, in fact he was horrible, but he was good at reading Mikleo. Perhaps it was because all of his attention was on the boy all the time, so much so that he unconsciously began to pick up his habits and signs. He wasn’t like Mikleo, who was calculating and distant and would prefer to find answers from the sidelines. Sorey connected with people, and learned about them through those connections. He didn’t seek to figure out the way people ticked like Mikleo either, he just wanted to know all kinds of different human beings.

 

He reached out to the peaceful face in front of him. His hair was down in his sleep for once, an uncommon occurrence now that it was getting much longer. It was stuck to his open lips, which were drawing gentle, quiet breaths. His shoulders down were nuzzled under the covers, his hands pulled up to his chest and clutching his own shirt.

 

Sorey would never get over how beautiful he was.

 

Sorey moved to brush the hair away from Mikleo face, and to Sorey’s dismay the boy immediately woke. He had always been a light sleeper, the slightest foreign touch could often wake him.

 

“Sorry,” Sorey whispered, continuing to tuck Mikleo’s hair behind his ear to show him that’s all he was doing. Mikleo eyes threatened to close drowsily, unfocused and barely able to keep attention as Sorey began to rub his knuckles across Mikleo’s cheek.

 

That was why Sorey was so surprised when Mikleo spoke.

 

“Sorry I was so grumpy tonight,” Mikleo grumbled, opening his eyes and shifting. Sorey just rested his whole hand on Mikleo’s cheek, amazed that it almost took up the tiny boy’s entire face.

 

“You were tired, and you still are. Go back to sleep.” Sorey said to his half-conscious lover.

 

There was silence for a moment, and then Mikleo opened his eyes again, giving Sorey a shy gaze that he hadn’t seen directed at him in a long while. “Do you really love me?” Mikleo choked, and then seemed to curl in on himself protectively.

 

Sorey stared at him in utter disbelief. It was so rare to see Mikleo so vulnerable. The boy tried so hard not to look weak, often masking his emotions and risking making things worse to do so. So it was so strange of him to ask such a question, looking up at Sorey like a frightened animal.

 

Sorey brushed it off as the effects of late-night-conversation.

 

He patted Mikleo’s cheek, “Of course, why would you say that.”

 

“Nobody else?” He asked softly, his eyes distressed.

 

Sorey pursed his lips. “Not like you,” he whispered, pulling his arms around the now frail seeming body and dragging Mikleo close, immediately feeling the tense muscles relax.

 

After a few more minutes Mikleo simply fell back asleep, mostly accepting his fate of likely not remembering the conversation in the morning. Sorey, on the other hand, lied awake for long after. Doing nothing but pulling out the knots in Mikleo’s silky hair.

 

~

 

When Mikleo awoke he felt utterly exhausted.

 

This wasn’t exactly an abnormal thing, but he squirmed to look at the clock anyway, only to be faced with gentle green eyes.

 

“Morning Princess,” he said softly, greeting Mikleo with a flick on the forehead. Mikleo blinked fast and squirmed.

 

“Hey,” he whined, slowly sitting up. Sorry didn’t sit all the way up though, instead rolling over on to his back with a concerned expression.

 

“You alright?” He said gently. Mikleo gave him a strange look, caught off guard by Sorey’s seemingly unconfident gaze and gentle, comforting voice.

 

“Yes, why wouldn’t I be?” He asked with genuine curiosity. He thought a moment though, and then frowned. “I guess I was kind of odd yesterday, wasn’t I?” He said gently, pulling his hands through Sorey’s messed up fringe just once. “Sorry about that. I’m still a bit tired, actually.”

 

“Why don’t you go back to sleep?” Sorey said, tugging on his lover’s shirt in suggestion to lie back down. But, Mikleo only shook his head and slid out of bed, wobbling on his feet and then spinning around awkwardly, almost losing his balance.

 

“Where are my glasses?”

 

Sorey giggled, and then it turned into loud laughter, ringing throughout the bedroom. Mikleo glared at him, huffing and clenching his fists before stumbling towards the bedside table and groping around until he found them, sliding them onto his face and fixing them so that they sat normally.

 

“I’m going to go make breakfast,” Mikleo grumbled. He spun around, making his move to stalk into the kitchen only to be stopped by a grab of the wrist. He whipped back around, stumbling backwards a step in surprise and looking at Sorey, who sat up and loosened his grip slightly.

 

“Sorry,” he said quietly, Mikleo twitched with the simple word. “I… Mikleo really what’s bothering you?”

 

Mikleo opened his mouth to protest, but instead met eyes with Sorey’s distressed gaze. He pursed his lips, weighing if it would upset him more to simply not tell him or to make him aware of the situation and give him anxiety over that.

 

There was a long pause, Sorey looking increasingly more worried all the while. “I’ll tell you over breakfast,” he finally said softly. Sorey’s eyes relit, once again filled with their usual light. Mikleo stared at him, fully coming to realize how simple Sorey was to please.

 

How easy he would be to break.

 

Mikleo turned around, continuing his start back into the kitchen with his mind now immersed in turmoil.

 

“Mikleo!” Sorey said. The boy stopped in his tracks, but did not turn to face Sorey, instead continuing to look down. “I forgot to say it yesterday but those shorts look super cute on you.”

 

He didn’t miss the upward twitch of his lover’s lips as he exited the room once again.

 

~

 

Mikleo watched with what should probably be mild disgust but he found being love-struck admiration for the puppy-dog-like adorableness as Sorey practically inhaled pancakes. Sorey finally stopped for a moment, licking sugary sweet syrup off his lips and looking back to Mikleo, who was sipping at tea with his legs pulled up to his chest.

 

“Are you going to tell me now?” Sorey asked once he had swallowed. Mikleo shook his head, turning around to face Sorey and scooting himself backward to the armrest to face Sorey, sitting with one leg only slightly bent and the other one pulled higher.

 

The position he was sitting in was causing his shirt to slide off of the opposite shoulder that he usually allowed it to, revealing the patchy scar. Mikleo jerked and automatically clapped his hand over it when Sorey’s eyes caught it, and Sorey only shook his head, sighing.

 

“Mikleo I’ve seen you in the bath before you don’t need to cover it up.”

 

Mikleo paused, and then his hand went limp, sliding back gracefully into his lap. He paused then, seeming to try to work out a plan for how this conversation was to go in his brain he licked his lips, staring off into the distance.

 

“For starters, you do realize Alisha still has a crush the size of the sun on you, right?”

 

Sorey stared at Mikleo in disbelief, eyes widening in genuine shock. Then again, why was he even surprised that Mikleo would start a conversation by dropping a bombshell on him? “N-No!” He said, practically choking on his own words. Mikleo sighed dramatically, Sorey paused. “Although, now that you say that I guess it kind of makes sense…”

 

“Kind of? It makes a lot of sense.” Mikleo grumbled. Sorey frowned, suddenly looking worried again.

 

“Hey you’re not jealous are you?” Sorey asked cautiously. Mikleo sighed, shaking his head and causing strands of his ponytail to whip his cheeks and face.

 

“No,” he said softly. “I’m just worried how this will all turn out.”

 

Sorey looked at Mikleo in confusion. “I don’t get it though, she knows we’re together. Pretty much everyone knows we’re together now, even Sergei is starting to realize our relationship is different.” Mikleo hummed softly in response.

 

“She’s liked you for a long time, you know.” Mikleo said, looking directly into Sorey’s gaze. “She’s stubborn, likes to get what she wants and likes to fight for things. She’s also bad with handling her own emotions and once focused on something can be too distracted to read others. That’s why this situation is going how it is.” He paused, “It’s also what makes her so great though.”

 

Sorey hummed and smiled in response, wrapping Mikleo up in an embrace and dragging him close, causing Mikleo to nearly spill his scalding tea. “H-Hey…” He yelped, but his voice only turned soft and weak as Sorey pressed a kiss against his plush cheek.

 

“I guess I wouldn’t let go of you if you were dating someone else either,” Sorey giggled. Mikleo face immediately began to fade into an adorable hot pink, only to turn a bright red as Sorey began pressing soft kisses all over his sensitive skin.

 

“H-Hey!” He yelped as Sorey nudged him, used to his protests. “That’s enooougggghhh!” He drew out, forcing Sorey to stop so he’d shut up. Mikleo moved away, his face burning red.

 

Sorey only laughed, not offended in the slightest and poked his squishy sides gently, forcing a tiny, tiny giggle out of Mikleo’s lips. “You really are a princess,” Sorey teased.

 

Mikleo looked up at him, a soft expression on his face. “I…”

 

“What?” Sorey said, tilting his head like a curious puppy.

 

“You… Just hadn’t been calling me that lately.” Mikleo began to curl one of the loose strands he always left out whenever he pulled back his hair around his finger, his face now simply a cute dusting of pink.

 

“Why, did you miss it?” Sorey joked back, but there was too much softness in his tone for it to be a real jab.

 

There was silence for a moment.

 

“You pancakes are going to get cold.”

 

“Ah, dangit!”

 

~

 

Mikleo rang the doorbell to the little home.

 

He immediately heard pounding footsteps, and took that as his cue to take two steps back. Luckily, he had calculated correctly because as the door banged open it simply wooshed by his face instead of slamming into it.

 

“Ah, Mikleo…” Lailah said, only looking ever so slightly disappointed. Mikleo cocked an eyebrow at her and she giggled, light and a smile returning to her gaze. “Sorry, sorry. I just thought you were Rose since she’s the only one who never tells me before she arrives!”

 

Mikleo laughed, shaking his head. “Jee,” he grumbled as she ushered him to the perfectly neat cozy home. It was one of his favorite places on Earth, he had wanted to move into the perfect little house when he was younger. His gaze softened, “How has that been, going by the way?”

 

“Wonderful!” Lailah said cheerfully, clapping her hands together and bouncing twice on her heals as the door shut behind them. “I’m still a bit in shock that she’s okay with the whole… Aromantic, thing.”

 

Mikleo shook his head, “She should be. You deserve it.” But his gaze softened anyway, “I understand though.”

 

Lailah gasped, “Speaking of which! You look adorable!”

 

“Uh-huh,” Mikleo said, giving her an unamused look. “I literally slept in this.”

 

“You still look adorable!” She retaliated.

 

“Thank you, Lailah.” He said anyway, giving her a soft smile. He looked around, “What do your parents think of Rose?”

 

“Surprisingly, they really like her.” Mikleo almost burst out laughing, but stopped himself by politely putting a hand over his mouth. “I think they’re just happy I finally found someone I care about.”

 

“You two do well together,” Mikleo said simply. Lailah only bobbed her head in response.

 

“It’s nice to have someone, certainly. I don’t know how long it will last, or what will become of it, but I don’t think it particularly matters.” She explained with large flourishes of her hand. Mikleo just nodded and smiled a bit. Lailah suddenly paused, “Ah, but you must’ve come for a reason! You never come without a reason anymore,” she pouted.

 

Mikleo sighed, “Yes I did come for a reason.” Mikleo looked around, “Where are your parents?”

 

“At work. Why, do you need them?”

 

Mikleo shook his head, “No, I just wanted to talk to you.”

 

Lailah gestured to the white couch, both of them sat down. Their movements were always similar in grace and yet so different.

 

“Alisha.”

 

“Ah, that.” Lailah said in response.

 

“How perceptive of you.” Mikleo continued, perhaps a bit too shortly.

 

“Perhaps I could talk to her,” she said softly. She then looked at him pointedly, “Does Sorey know?”

 

“Just explained it to him this morning, he’s too oblivious to figure it out himself.” Mikleo grumbled. A twinkle came in Lailah’s eye.

 

“I don’t think he’s too oblivious, I just think he’s too _distracted_ thanks to a certain _someone.”_ She giggled as if she had just said something clever, and Mikleo cheeks tinged pink in response.

 

“Oh, quiet you,” he quipped. Lailah just laughed again, fluttering her lashes gracefully. Mikleo stared at them, many people didn’t like their blonde eyelashes but Mikleo had always loved Lailah’s. He always loved her soft face without makeup.

 

Not that she didn’t look gorgeous with makeup too, of course. In fact she was rather talented with it.

 

Lailah cleared her throat. “But anyway,” she sang. “I’ll give Alisha a call and see what exactly is going on in that little head of hers.”

 

“Mm,” Mikleo hummed, his eyes now distant. Lailah let the silence settle, knowing that the boy was simply thinking.

 

“I wonder what Sergei thinks of all this?” He finally said simply, tilting his head.

 

“Oh, now we both have jobs then!” Mikleo started, opening his mouth to protest quickly. “ _You_ call Sergei, _I’ll_ call Alisha,” she said threateningly. Mikleo froze to the spot, suddenly still as stone. Lailah then softened her expression, blinking innocently and beaming like a child, “Okay?”

 

Mikleo nodded regretfully.

 

Lailah clapped her hands together, “It’s settled then! But oh, don’t leave, I’m going to go make some tea...”

 

Mikleo watched the lonely girl bustle out of the living room and into the kitchen.

 

~

 

Alisha was sitting on the floor when the phone rang. Hearing it, she immediately scrambled over, eyes lighting up only to be disappointed.

 

_Lailah Mioma_

She had been hoping and praying for it to be Mikleo, getting an explanation of his odd behavior last night, the missed call and the fact that he just seemed to be ignoring her in general.

 

Had she been too clingy? But she had never seen Mikleo get frustrated with anyone for calling or texting too much. Zaveid bugged him constantly, and while Mikleo did get annoyed and flustered about it, it was more because of the actual _contents_ of the messages than anything.

 

Zaveid seemed to of picked up on Edna’s habit of torturing the younger brother.

 

She answered the phone call. Maybe Lailah knew something about it? In any case, she could always talk to Lailah about it. If Mikleo was the king of advice, Lailah was the queen.

 

_“Alisha?”_ Came a soft, almost whisper from the other line. Yet it was upbeat and joyful, always happy to talk. Alisha smiled, the sound immediately taking effect.

 

“Did you need something, Lailah?” Alisha said, equally joyful and slightly curious.

 

_“Ah, well…”_ Lailah said, her voice raising and her tone dropping. _“I just wanted to make sure you were alright, I suppose.”_

Alisha giggled, Lailah always seemed to be in the know. “Well… I suppose,” she replied. “Mikleo seems to be kind of ignoring me lately, though, and I’m not quite sure what I did wrong…”

 

Lailah only hummed, not seeming particularly surprised with the fact. _“Perhaps he’s just tired?”_ She said softly. _“He has his own problems too you know, and he’s been through a lot as of late. I think he’s still recovering.”_

“H-He has?” Alisha asked, blinking with surprise. “What happened-“

 

_“Oh my!”_ Lailah suddenly squeaked in delight, causing Alisha to nearly jump out of her skin. _“What an adorable little bee outside my window! It’s so fat and plump…”_ She continued by making small little “buzzing” noises and then humming suspiciously.

 

“U-Um? Lailah?”

 

She stopped. _“Oh, why yes dear?”_

“Is something wrong with Mikleo?”

 

_“Oh, well everything’s alright now I suppose.”_ She answered vaguely. Alisha’s face screwed up.

 

Would she ever stop being hit in the face with the constant reminder that she knew absolutely nothing about the boy?

 

_“Alisha,”_ Lailah said softly. _“Mikleo is a complicated person with an incredibly complicated past, present, and future. Figuring them out is like solving a never ending puzzle.”_

Alisha paused, thinking. “I see…” She said simply.

 

_“Though, Alisha sweetheart,”_ Lailah continued. _“You’re a large part of the problem. Take some time to work on yourself and really look at what you’re doing, and you may find that the people around you change.”_

Alisha continued to gape, “What does that mean…?”

 

_“OHHH!”_ Lailah said dramatically. _“My, all the flowers are dying I must’ve forgotten to water them! How silly of me! Goodbye, Alisha, I have to go tend to the garden.”_

“Wai-“

 

_“Good luck.”_

The call ended.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alisha was incorrect about Mikleo and Lailah being the king and queen of advice they're actually the rulers of half-answering-a-question-and-explaining-situations-but-not-really-and-somehow-getting-away-with-it-every-time


	32. When the World is Forever Falling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yayyy this is one of those weird inbetween chapters with a really slow pace and very little dialog 
> 
> Sue me but I love writing these shhhh

Alisha was oddly silent on her ride to school that day.

 

If Maltran noticed, she did not say anything about it. Alisha simply spaced out as the trees flew by. It was a beautiful, warm day outside. She was in nothing but sports shorts and a nice white t-shirt, and was certainly nowhere near chilly.

 

Alisha had always thought of herself as a mature person. She spoke well, handled situations accordingly, if a bit blunt, was smart, kind, and not easily offended. She was also loyal, and tried very hard to never become distracted by outside things. Whilst she tried to tend to her friend’s needs and help to keep her friends together, as she loved them dearly, homework and education usually came first.

 

Love usually came last.

 

But had that changed?

 

“Alisha, we’re here,” said a careful, deep voice in the front of the car. Alisha flinched and slid out of the fresh leather seats, throwing her heavy backpack over her shoulder and waving, shutting the door gently.

 

Mikleo, Edna, Zaveid and Lailah were already loitering in the front of the school before classes started. Students walked by them with ease, ignoring the little group as Alisha jogged up to them, worries washed away and heart instead filled with joy as she waved at her friends.

 

Lailah called to her, and to her very relief, Mikleo looked up and smiled at her, waving. She continued to jog over, deciding to remain standing.

 

She now stood in front of the four. They were all gathered around the front of the pretty fountain in the beautiful, old walkway of the school. Mikleo was sitting on the edge of it, legs crossed with grace and looking up at her with a curious gaze. Lailah was to his right, her left, standing tall with perfect posture. Zaveid was sitting to Mikleo’s left, hands dropped in-between his legs and staring at her with unreadable eyes, and Edna was standing beside him, umbrella propped open over her head.

 

“You look like you didn’t sleep,” Mikleo said softly. Alisha blinked, did she look tired? She didn’t put on as much makeup as other girls, and certainly wasn’t good with the stuff, so if she did there was not much she could really do to fix it…

 

“Did our conversation last night keep you awake?” Lailah spoke. Her gentle green eyes were filled to the brim with worry. Alisha could never quite understand the shade of Lailah’s eyes. They weren’t like sharp mint, like her own, nor deep like Sorey’s. They weren’t quite in-between either, and they certainly weren’t dull. Sometimes she swore they almost had a blueish hue, but not always.

 

Alisha nodded, embarrassed. She began to spin her hair around her finger awkwardly, and Lailah simply giggled sweetly. “You don’t have to overload your poor brain, just think about it in your free time. Okay?”

 

Boisterous laughter erupted the second Lailah finished her sentence. She recognized it so she spun around, immediately catching sight of Sorey and Rose. Sorey was yelling (not that Sorey yelling was what most anyone else would define as yelling) at her in irritation, and Rose was simply laughing at him uncontrollably. Some people stared at the two like they were insane, others rolled their eyes and continued walking, but they were certainly making a scene.

 

Sergei trailed behind them, waving at her exuberantly with a puppy-dog smile covering his entire face.

 

Alisha smiled back, all her worries drifting away. Her friends after all, would always be there.

 

~

 

School passed by normally. They got drowned in homework, nipped at by their teachers and made arrangements to meet at Alisha’s house after school.

 

Sorey had offered to drive Sorey, Mikleo and Zaveid to Alisha’s house, all of whom had walked. Mikleo immediately went for the passenger’s seat. Whilst usually he got shoved into the back because of his small size, the spot was unspokenly reserved for him in Sorey’s car.

 

At this, Zaveid grumbled in the back while Mikleo buckled his seatbelt. “I wish I had a boyfriend so I could sit in the front.”

 

“Yeah, well maybe if you were a pervert you would.” Mikleo replied smugly, twisting around in the seat with unusual grace for such a simple motion to look at him.

 

Suddenly the car jerked forward. Zaveid jerked, Edna started and Mikleo simply put his hand down on the console to steady himself, fully expecting it.

 

“Sorry!” Sorey said, driving out of the little parking lot with much more smoothness than just a second earlier. Mikleo only gave him a rather blank expression, although maybe it had a tinge of amusement in it.

 

“Please don’t wreck.”

 

“I’m not that bad of a driver!” Sorey shot back, tempted to take his eyes off the rode to glare at his distracting lover, but not willing to take such a risk.

 

“Uh-huh.”

 

“I’m really not!” Sorey continued, annoyed. “I’ve never been in an accident,” he explained genuinely. This, however, did not stop the teasing.

 

“Oh great. You’ve jinxed us all and we’re in one of the few places on Earth with absolutely no wood, a car. We’re all going to die.” Edna deadpanned plainly, finishing her sentence with a rather audible sigh.

 

Sorey only grumbled in reply, “Oh fantastic, I’m in a car with the three most sarcastic siblings on Earth.”

 

Zaveid blinked, Mikleo looked back at him with a smile twitching on his lips. It took a moment, but slowly the man recovered from his temporary shock, and genuine, signature boisterous smile covering his whole face. “Oh?” He sang, “So I’m officially a sibling now.”

 

“Apparently so,” Mikleo said softly.

 

“Welcome to the ‘I have no parental figures’ squad,” Edna said blandly, not sounding particularly happy about the development.

 

“Lailah’s a parental figure,” Mikleo said with genuine honesty. Edna snorted though, rolling her eyes.

 

“For you.” She deadpanned, Mikleo frowned. “Plus, she’s our age. She doesn’t count.”

 

Mikleo only huffed in response, Sorey laughing nervously and wondering what kind of chaos he had ensued with such a simple sentence.

 

Mikleo then shifted around, changing his focus from the back seat to forward. He straightened his back with a certain relaxed, yet perfect posture than only he and Lailah seemed to be able to accomplish and crossed his legs, tucking his hands inbetween his thighs and simply staring forward with no particular focus.

 

They drove a while, the drive serene and silent with nothing but the beauty of the ever-busy and yet so simply quiet Ladylake. Mikleo had shut his eyes, now leaning into the back of the seat with his legs uncrossed (although, his hands were still tucked inbetween them).

 

Edna and Zaveid began bickering with an oddly low volume and the back, and Sorey slowly began to slide his hand off of where it was resting on the shift, which was currently left without a use since the car was automatic.

 

At the weight suddenly on his thigh Mikleo opened one eye slowly, peaking over at Sorey. The other boy had a soft smile on his face, his eyes sparkling gently and his gaze on the rode soft. His hand was light and not constricting, thumb simply tracing across Mikleo’s leg with no particular aim.

 

Mikleo opened his other eye in response, smiling fondly and tilting his head so his cheek lied against the back of the seat, shifting closer to Sorey’s reach. Mikleo didn’t miss how Sorey’s lips twitched, and he gave Mikleo’s leg a quick, soft squeeze.

 

Both of them had been too caught up and one another to notice the sudden lack of argument and the growing awkward silence in the back seat.

 

“Gayyyy,” Zaveid whispered softly, giggling under his breath like an immature kid. Mikleo flinched, as if suddenly coming out of a trance.

 

“Oh hush you,” he responded with absolutely no maliciousness, or even slight annoyance in his tone. Instead he simply put one elbow on the console and propped up his chin, allowing Sorey to drag his leg even close to the edge of the seat.

 

~

 

Alisha saw through the window as the quartet arrived. That’s really what they were, at this point.

 

She would never get over Sorey being so close with so many other people. She always just thought of the lonely little boy in Elysia, who was friends with no one but the wild goats, had no one but the odd little Elysian family, and had nothing he cared about in his possession but a book holding many tales of the outside world.

 

She would also never imagine to see her admittedly, nearly coldhearted Mikleo grow to trust and love someone so much, or for Edna to trust someone to be such a large part of Mikleo’s life. Or Zaveid, whose smile she never realized was so fake until it began to become genuine just recently.   

 

She wasn’t sure if she was supposed to be afraid or proud.

 

There was a polite knock before the door just simply burst open, which was followed by a loud: “Zaveid!” that sounded oddly like Mikleo yelling.

 

“Sorry Mom!” Zaveid sang, dancing through the door and confirming Alisha’s suspicions as Mikleo followed, seeming rather irritated and seeming to be trying to do something that Zaveid only continued to dodge. Edna and Sorey watched on, not exactly fazed but not exactly pleased, either.

 

“You two… Are ridiculous,” Sorey said softly. Mikleo promptly turned around to glare at his lover, in which Sorey responded to by giggling.

 

“You’re all ridiculous,” Alisha added, smiling politely. Sorey turned around and beamed back, and Edna rolled her eyes. “I’m making peanut-butter and jelly, since it’s the least I can do. You all can go upstairs if you like.”

 

“Glad my cooking lessons at least taught you to not burn toast,” Mikleo smirked. Alisha blushed, and began to make it retort but the boy simply spun on his heels, beginning to walk up the stairs with unrealistic amounts of power and grace, almost fine and delicate like royalty to the point where Alisha found herself biting her tongue.

 

Sorey seemed to pause a moment, eyes tracking Mikleo’s every move carefully. From the slight bounce in his step and the way he pushed himself forward, to the point of his toes.

 

But, he quickly followed, and so did Zaveid and Edna. Both Zaveid and Sorey sprinted up the steps like kids at Christmas (for no reason in particular) whilst Edna and Mikleo watched them surpass them annoyingly.

 

When the two original siblings finally entered Alisha’s room, Sorey was sprawled out like a starfish on the carpet and Zaveid was curled up in a beanie chair, scrolling through his phone.

 

Mikleo walked over to where Sorey was laying instinctively, once he got there he hesitated for but a moment, before kneeling down carefully, and then lying belly-first over top of Sorey’s sprawled out arm, and leaning into his side.

 

“You’re going to make my arm numb,” Sorey grumbled, but only responded by leaning into Mikleo, ignoring the way the boy’s bony hip prodded him.

 

“Yeah well, you should be used to that by now,” was the only pity he received anyway.

 

Out of nowhere, there was a distinct buzzing noise. Mikleo jumped ever so slightly before propping himself up on his elbows, creating a graceful dip in his spine. Mikleo then took one of those arms away, twisting around and digging through his pocket to fish out his phone.

 

But when Mikleo brought it around to his face Sorey immediately felt him tense. In fact, Mikleo seemed to have started holding his breath, as Sorey no long felt the gentle rise and fall of his stomach on top of his arm.

 

“Mikleo, what’s wrong?” Sorey said, furrowing his brows and rolling over, still allowing Mikleo to lay on top of his arm and settling over him, wrapping his other arm around him and resting his chin on Mikleo’s shoulder to try and look at the phone. One could describe the position as protective. When he peaked at the phone, there was nothing on it but an unknown number, buzzing at him to pick it up.

 

Mikleo took a sharp breath inwards, all of his muscles bunching up before he released it. Whilst he was calmer to the common eye, Sorey knew otherwise. “Nothing,” Mikleo said softly. Sorey didn’t miss the slight shake in his tone, and he furrowed his brows, tightening his arms around Mikleo subconsciously and moving further up on his body.

 

Apparently he wasn’t the only one who noticed Mikleo’s distress, as Edna, who had been sitting fairly close to them on the floor, stalked over and snatched the phone out of Mikleo’s hands.

 

Mikleo gasped and briefly lost balance on his own elbows as he instinctively reached to get it back, having to catch himself from collapsing (especially with the added weight of Sorey on top of him). Sorey looked at him with concern before his eyes flickered back up to Edna.

 

She leaned down, shoved the phone in Mikleo’s face (to which he flinched) and pressed the end button before dropping it back on the floor dramatically.

 

Sorey looked at Edna questioningly, to which she pursed her lips and growled, “Michael.”

 

Sorey’s green eye widened, and then jerked over to Mikleo. He was turned away, looking sheepish and sad. His shoulders were pulled taught and his breath was tight. Sorey hated it.

 

“Don’t look at me,” Mikleo practically whimpered. “I don’t know why he was calling,” He continued, seeming to curl in on himself.

 

Sorey only huffed, rolling back to his rightful place. “Let’s talk about it later,” Sorey said softly with just an edge of firmness. Mikleo bit his lip so hard that it stung, and tears prickled his eyes. Although, perhaps the tears weren’t just from such a thing.

 

All Mikleo could do was bob his head in agreement, and when he felt a tug on his side he abided, collapsing back on top of Sorey’s arm and pressing his back into Sorey’s side. In return Sorey wrapped his arm around Mikleo tighter, and began to trail his fingers down him gently.

 

Alisha chose this moment to pop in, Lailah and Rose trailing behind her.

 

“Oh my,” Lailah giggled. “Is it a lazy day?”  


In response to this Mikleo only opened one eye and Sorey beamed, Edna and Zaveid ignored her completely.

 

“Awwwe,” Lailah clucked. “But it’s getting overcast, it was so beautiful earlier too…”

 

“This is Ladylake. If you want somewhere with pretty blue skies and lovely weather all year ‘round you should probably move,” Rose sighed. Lailah turned around and pouted at her, to which Rose seemed to ever so slightly melt to.

 

“I don’t even want it to be sunny all the time, just occasionally! That’s all I’m asking for,” she groaned. Edna rolled her eyes, but Sorey sat up suddenly, leaving Mikleo to roll off his arm.

 

“Where’s Sergei, it’s not like him to be the last one here?” Sorey pondered aloud.

 

“Ah,” Alisha said, setting the sandwiches in the middle of the floor. This finally seemed to catch Zaveid’s interest, as he crawled over and stole two. “He said he had to go home first. Also, Zaveid, please don’t eat all of them,” Alisha sighed.

 

“No promises, darling,” he said as he slunk back over to his dark corner and began to inhale his snack.

 

"Zaveid, I swear if you make yourself sick…” Mikleo said, half annoyed and half worried. Zaveid’s only response was to bang on his chest in a rather masculine manner.

 

“I’m fine, I’ve got a stomach made of iron!”

 

“I sure hope you don’t.” Edna snorted bluntly. Zaveid glared at her and pouted, whilst Mikleo turned back to the window, watching the rain slide down it with such seemingly simplistic, and yet utterly complex movements.

 

“You really do like rain,” came a soft voice from beside him. Mikleo didn’t turn to look at it though, just continued to intently stare at the same spot, lost in a similar, yet not quite the same world.

 

“Mm,” he said softly. He was mildly aware of the chatter that was beginning in the background, but it was nothing but a whisper in his mind, only a soft noise compared to the thrumming rain and Sorey’s voice, which always seemed to cut through the fog whenever it rested in his mind. “It’s pretty.”

 

Suddenly there was a finger poking his cheek. Mikleo twisted, looking up at Sorey whom was hovering over top of him with a soft, beautiful gaze which Mikleo never thought he would be ever be able to deserve. “Just like you,” he smiled.

 

Mikleo could only smile just as fondly back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pace should be picking back up again soon~!


	33. The Depths

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *slowly crawls out of the abyss*
> 
> I'm alive
> 
> Sorry if bits and pieces of this aren't up to par, I had severe writers block while writing a lot of it, and was stressed out over being swamped in homework because I can't prioritize. 
> 
> Also, if I'm a person who usually reads something you write and I haven't been commenting, my apologies, I haven't been reading anything either.

“Are you staying over?”  


The thrum of the car was low, and words that were desperate to be said clung in the air.

 

“Might as well since we’re stopping there anyway,” Sorey said cheerfully, shrugging lightly. Edna was burned out from the visit, and so was Mikleo. Zaveid, however, was bouncing lightly in his seat, seeming to have sucked the energy out of everyone around him to keep to himself while they were over. Sorey was in a similar state.

 

Mikleo was happy they had actually gotten some homework done, because he knew Edna wouldn’t want to do it when they got to the house, and he sure didn’t want to do anything productive at the moment. He pushed the black bag at his feet aimlessly, rocking it back and forth.

 

“We really spent a long time there,” Sorey said, glancing at the clock. They had all been the last ones to leave, and it was nearly 9:30. Maltran had basically had to kick them out, them all for some odd reason feeling stuck to Alisha’s lovely, soft and fluffy carpet by the end of the night.

 

“Mm,” Mikleo hummed drowsily. They pulled into the driveway gently and Sorey came to a halt. Mikleo paused a beat before opening his door and undoing his seatbelt, whilst continuing to slowly slide down the side of the car and onto the ground.

 

He reached for his heavy backpack, but it was immediately taken from his reach. He jerked around to find Sorey behind him, the bag dangling in his hands. “Don’t worry, I’ve got it,” he said gently, and then proceeded to dance out of Mikleo’s reach before he could grab it again.

 

They all herded each other inside, Mikleo practically having to drag Edna and shoo the grumpy girl upstairs to go to bed. Zaveid simply went downstairs, claiming that it was far too early to go to sleep and he was going to stay up longer. Sorey went upstairs and Mikleo, after checking nothing in the house was out of place, followed.

 

"You alright?” Sorey said softly, walking up the steps. His feet made clonking sounds on the steps, whilst Mikleo’s made almost none at all.

 

Mikleo hummed quietly, pondering his answer and his feelings. He licked his lips, and unconsciously bounced his step ever-so-slightly, “I’m okay.”

 

Sorey brushed his knuckles down Mikleo’s cheek and peered into his ever changing eyes softly. “You sure? You really looked startled earlier…” Mikleo bit his lip and slid into his room, watching Sorey as he followed. Something in his stance was oddly anxious now, but Sorey couldn’t pinpoint it. Perhaps it was simply intuition that told him his lover was nervous, or maybe it was Mikleo’s eyes, which always seemed to let he slivers of emotion he couldn’t hide shine.

 

Mikleo turned his back on Sorey and Sorey shut the door behind them, settling his backpack by the door along with Mikleo’s and looking around the still meticulously neat room. He waited for Mikleo to respond, sighing at Mikleo’s desk which simply always stood out from everything else, with books piled around the chair’s legs and the desk itself covered in too much homework to keep but so organized.

 

“Why don’t you just block his number?”

 

Silence.

 

Sorey looked at him. He was tapping his fingers along his thigh, and Sorey wondered if it was a nervous or thoughtful habit at this moment. His voice had been calm, perhaps it was simply the ladder.

 

When Mikleo began tugging at his clothing his decided it was the former.

 

“Because that would make too much sense, I suppose,” Mikleo replied sarcastically in attempt to hide his discomfort. Sorey walked across the room, placing a supportive hand on the small of Mikleo’s back.

 

Sorey continued to simply rub Mikleo for a moment, gazing at him a bit sadly. The smaller boy leaned into the touch ever so slightly, inviting a twitch on Sorey’s lips. Sorey finally sighed, taking away his hand and watching as Mikleo looked up at him, looking slightly disappointed by the suddenly missing contact.

 

“Do you hate him?”

 

Mikleo paused, gazing into Sorey’s big green eyes. Despite the boy’s happy go lucky demeanor, and constantly positive, impulsive, and gung-ho personality, knowledge lied behind them. It hid behind walls the boy didn’t even know he had built, and they he had more wisdom than he was credited for.

 

Mikleo turned back to looking forward, eyes staring at the window but not out of it, simply unfocused, in a world where all he did was think, think and think.

 

“Should I?” Mikleo said simply, not flickering his gaze back to his lover, and his eyes not focusing or clearing quite yet. Sorey looked his face up and down, taking in the blank, but not empty expression.

 

“You don’t have to, but it would certainly be understandable,” he said, smiling at Mikleo. At this Mikleo’s eyes finally flickered in his direction, and his head slowly turned. His look was calculating, no doubt taking in the simple sentence Sorey had said and overturning it in his brain a million times, deriving every possible meaning with it and then examining what to take away.

 

“I don’t hate him,” Mikleo said holding Sorey’s gaze intensely. “No matter what reasons I have to hate him, I don’t think I can truly hate someone my mother once loved so much.”

 

A heavy silence overtook the room. It was not awkward or suffocating, simply meaningful and weighing. Mikleo continued to hold Sorey’s gaze as Sorey’s head spun in a million different ways, unfortunately not in the efficient way Mikleo seemed to do it.

 

Mikleo’s gaze then softened, and he simply smiled fondly. Seemingly out of nowhere Sorey giggled and pulled Mikleo forward, crushing him in his arms and nuzzling his neck affectionately. Mikleo gasped at the sudden action, startled and tense, before relaxing and practically melting into Sorey.

 

“Thanks for talking to me about it,” Sorey said, his breath tickling Mikleo’s sensitive skin and making him shiver.

 

“You’re too easy to please,” Mikleo said in response. There was a certain softness in his voice though, and his eyes fluttered shut again Sorey’s shoulder.

 

“Shut up,” Sorey whined, but only pulled him closer.

 

~

Mikleo was sitting on the soft couch with a book in his hand.

 

Everything was peaceful. The words in his lap didn’t really seem to fully register in his brain, but for some reason he was unconcerned with the fact.

 

It was summer, and the little house was warm. He could hear his mother singing in the kitchen, although he was too far away to hear the words.

 

Her voice was not one of a professional singer, but that didn’t make it any less beautiful to Mikleo. Her words flowed perfectly and her voice grew soft and sweet occasionally, then only to become loud and dramatic not long after. Perhaps a person of his age should be embarrassed by his mother eccentrics, but they never bothered Mikleo. After all, he was rather odd himself.

 

But, the pleasant sun was beginning to become too hot. Mikleo rubbed at his bare arms, mildly annoyed by the heat and shifting the book in his lap.

 

Out of nowhere, the book disintegrated into ashes.

 

He stared down at his hands, which were suddenly full of fire. For some reason, though, the fire didn’t hurt. For a brief second his mind was blank, his body was numb. The entire world around him seemed to freeze but the licking, non-stop fire in his pale fingers.

 

And then everything around him burst into flames.

 

His pupils dilated, his eyes widened. The flames were loud, roaring like a lion and hurting his sensitive ears. The screams started, and he could now only stare into the flames straight ahead, his eyes fearful and perhaps a bit insane. The screams were of pure, wretched emotion, so loud that they even cut through the horrible fire’s roars.

 

As the screams rose the flames got hotter and hotter, closer and closer. Everything was red and gold. His mother screamed, screamed of the pain of being burned alive, screamed of her brother who never loved her son, screamed of the pain in her life.

 

Mikleo touched his shoulder suddenly, and when he pulled it away there was a putty-like substance in his hand, spilling through his fingers and onto the floor, and unbearable, almost translucent pale.

 

Something his brain somehow told him was melting skin.

 

And suddenly, he was screaming.

 

He couldn’t feel it, couldn’t feel the pain that should be in his throat and his chest from screaming for so long. Couldn’t feel his hands, couldn’t feel anything but the burning agony of his shoulder, and the pain of his screaming mother. He couldn’t feel the tears that ran down his face, and couldn’t feel the way his body was shaking.

 

Couldn’t even feel the hot flames licking around him anymore.

 

All of a sudden the screaming stopped.

 

His screaming stopped too once he realized it. He was frozen to the spot, no longer feeling emotional pain either. He was vaguely aware of the pulsing stings of his shoulder, and he could thankfully now feel the horrible salty tears running down his pale face.

 

He was vaguely aware of the hot flames around him, eating him, sucking the life of his very being out of him, but they didn’t hurt. They were nothing compared to the numbness which was now being flooded with too much emotion to ever exist in one sitting.

 

He felt the sobs bubble up in his throat, and he opened his mouth to once again scream louder.

 

~

 

Sorey had to watch as Mikleo jerked upwards with a scream.

 

Sorey immediately sat up next to him, although much slower (and in a much saner manner). Mikleo’s chest was heaving, and he was already having to blink tears away. His small body was shaking, and he was hunched over and curled in on himself. It made him look small and frail, whether he meant for it to seem like so or not.

 

“Mikleo,” Sorey said softly, touching Mikleo’s shoulder carefully.

 

Mikleo moved away, and so Sorey pulled his hand back, a slightly hurt look in his eye. “Mikleo?”

 

“Don’t worry about it,” Mikleo shivered. “It’s just the same thing as always,” he continued to grumble, grabbing the covers and diving underneath of them, and then continued to snuggle deeper into the bed, as if trying to disappear.

 

It, however, only took a moment for him to feel the warmth of Sorey’s chest on his back and strong, comforting arms. He shifted uncomfortably in them though, his chest hurting and his skin on fire. “You’re too hot, Sorey.” Mikleo whined, pushing him back with his shoulder.

 

“Well,” Sorey huffed. “You’re cold.” He did not mean it in the literal sense. Sorey pulled away slowly, but instead of taking away all contact left a hand on his side, which he then moved to trail down Mikleo’s back in no particular pattern, but it was comforting anyway, even as it made Mikleo’s touchy skin shiver when Sorey ran his fingers across certain spots.

 

“Thank you,” Mikleo said appreciatively, adjusting his position to something slightly more comfortable. Sorey didn’t feel the need to respond with words, only hummed, and ran his knuckles down Mikleo’s skin.

 

~

 

Mikleo awoke to a soft alarm. He squirmed, finding himself unusually cold. He reached down to rub his legs and coincidentally found, that there was no blanket over top of them.

 

He sat up, pulling his soft hoodie over his head in an attempt to shield himself from the cold. He then turned to his right, and an eyebrow twitched in irritation. It seemed a certain _somebody_ had stolen all the blankets. Sorey’s face was rather peaceful, and he was nestled under Mikleo’s two soft blankets, immune to the alarm that wasn’t nearly as loud as his own.

 

Mikleo stood on top of the bed, the soft down mattress sinking slightly under his feet.

 

Sorey let out a loud yelp as Mikleo “accidently” stepped on his ribs before jumping down soundlessly. Sorey groaned in response and twisted onto his back, stretching and yawning dramatically.

 

“Spring _my ass.”_ Mikleo grumbled. “It’s _freezing._ ”

 

“It’s also 6:00 AM,” Sorey whined, burrowing back down under the covers so only strands of his unstyled hair poked out. “Why are you even awake? School isn’t even that far from your house, you and Edna literally used to _walk_ to school.”

 

“Because that’s what time I get up.” Mikleo shot back lamely. “And you should get up too because I know if you don’t now I’ll never be able to get you up later since I don’t have a _fucking siren for an alarm.”_

 

“Okay, okay!” Sorey yelped, beginning to slowly un-burrow himself from under the covers. “Also, why do you curse so much in the morning?” He groaned, poking his innocent bright green eyes out from under the covers.

 

“Probably Edna’s fault.” Mikleo deadpanned, continuing to glare at his closet like it was the world’s most powerful demon. Not that this was an uncommon event, in fact it happened just about any time he had to go anywhere. Or, sometimes even when he didn’t have to go anywhere.

 

Mikleo took his time in the shower this morning (compared to his usual five minute ones) and in the bathroom in general. Sorey could already feel it warming up, the oddly cold spring morning finally becoming normal.

 

“Are you going to hop in the shower or what?”

 

Sorey looked up at the familiar voice, finding Mikleo in front of him dressed and put together. His hair was wet, pretty ringlets pouring down over the side of his shoulder. Even his bangs were waving and curling unusually around the edges, certain randomly dry fine hairs poking out stubbornly.

 

Instead of answering the question he was asked, Sorey walked curiously across the room, stopping in front of wearing Mikleo was standing. He reached out, curling his fingers underneath Mikleo’s hair, pulling his hand through this soft fine strands and then dropping it back onto his shoulder, to which some of it immediately slipped off of its place and fell to the back of his head.

 

“What?” Mikleo asked, his lips twitching and a blush just barely dusting over his cheeks.

 

“Nothing, I guess I just never really realized how curly your hair really is.” Sorey blinked, tilting his head at Mikleo like a curious puppy. “How’d you keep it so straight when it was short?”

 

Mikleo only shrugged in response, then playfully knocking him on the forehead with his knuckles. “Now go fix your own hair, it looks like a rat’s nest.” He said, nodding to the brown mess on top of Sorey’s head.

 

“Okay, okay!” Sorey laughed, scurrying into the bathroom with an armful of clothes from his backpack.

 

Mikleo did not wait for Sorey to finish, however, and instead exited the room and trotted down the stairs. His clothing was plain (for his standards) with nothing but a baby blue t-shirt and white, skin tight jeans. However, it was perfect for the odd, in-between weather crises called spring that Ladylake seemed to be going through right now.

 

As he reached the bottom of the steps he flicked a switch, and all the lights flickered on smoothly. This, was met with a loud, dramatic, groan, much to Mikleo’s surprise. Both Edna and Zaveid were night owls, and far from morning people. He didn’t know why either of them would be up at this time.

 

Mikleo trotted into the little circle of furniture in the living room, his eyes immediately finding Zaveid, whom was curled up in a little ball on the couch with a blanket wrapped around him.

 

He tapped the larger man’s arm. “What are you doing up?” Mikleo teased, but was surprised when Zaveid peaked out over the blanket and gave him a cold glare. Mikleo blinked, confused by the intensity of it even if Zaveid had just woken up far earlier than his normal liking. “What’s wrong?”

 

“Nothing, leave me alone.” Zaveid snapped back. Mikleo flinched, the voice had been cold and bitter, the opposite of the tone Zaveid usually used with anybody, especially with him.

 

“…Okay, whatever.” Mikleo grumbled sourly, trying not to walk away looking hurt with his tail in-between his legs, and instead exhibit his usually grace and confidence.

 

If he couldn’t control his life, he could at least control his movements.

 

It was at that moment that Sorey decided to prance in, now that he was fully awake bright energy was vibrating off of him that, with a little bit of imagination, was more blinding than the sun itself.

 

“Don’t look too happy,” Mikleo snorted. “Zaveid’s grumpy this morning, you might-“

 

“Shut. Up.” Zaveid growled, suddenly low and quite plainly, terrifying. A shiver ran up Mikleo’s spine, making his skin shake and shiver with it and seeming to continue all the way up to his head, where a stressful headache began to throb at his temples.

 

“Is something wrong…?” Sorey asked Zaveid, eyes widened with concern and fright, almost like a kicked puppy.

 

“Don’t ask him, not worth it,” Mikleo replied irritably, slamming the fridge door with purpose.

 

Sorey gave Zaveid, who was now buried completely under his blanket, a distressed glance before trotting into the kitchen with the intention to help. Just like every other morning they were together, even if it meant getting in the way of what Mikleo was attempting to do himself.

 

“Do you need help?” Sorey asked, curiously peaking over Mikleo’s shoulder to see him whisking away at a large amount of pancake batter. Mikleo grunted, not bothering to throw a glance behind him.

 

“Sorey, how do I answer that question every morning?”

 

“You say no…”

 

“Exactly, now shoo.” Mikleo replied, waving his hand at Sorey and glancing at the time, attempting to calculate when Edna would actually come downstairs (if the Lords dared to bless him with not having to drag her down).

 

Sorey however, didn’t go far, instead just moving to the entryway of the kitchen and leaning against it, eyes staring down and yet not at anything in particular.

 

Mikleo glanced back at the lump on the couch, eyebrows furrowing in a wordless emotion.

 

“Zaveid?” He said softly, but yet he managed to make his voice carry to the other room. He was met with silence, and he took that as a “continue”. “I don’t care how grumpy you are, you do have to eat breakfast, got it?”

 

There was silence again, and irritation began to bubble up in Mikleo’s chest at the idea that Zaveid was perhaps, simply ignoring him. But then, a voice spoke.

 

“Sure thing, Mom,” a voice croaked out from under the blankets. It was meant to be teasing, but only the words were, for the tone had accomplished something nowhere near playfully.

 

“Good, dear,” Mikleo sang back, his tone anyhow, actually succeeding in being playful. He heard a grunt as Zaveid shifted under the covers, and a smile twitched and Mikleo’s lip, even if it was a slightly sad one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fanfic has died so many time that it started out being called "In Place of a Name.docx" and now it's called "In Place of a NameASidkanymore (Autosaved).docx"
> 
> *disappears back off the edge of the Earth*

**Author's Note:**

> I always welcome constructive crit.! (I literally almost chuck my computer across the room every time I see a comment it makes me rlly happy okay)


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